2010 D e c i sion s O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit 6-17-2010 

# G a briel v . Atty Ge n U SA P r e c e de nt i al or N on-P r e c e de nt i al : N on-P r e c e de nt i al D ocke t N o . 06-5079

F o llow thi s and a dd it ion al work s at : http://d i git alc ommon s .l a w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2010

Thi s de c i sion i s br ou ght t o you for f r e e and ope n a c c e s s b y the O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit at V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

w Di git al Reposit ory

. It h as be e n a c c ept e d for inclusion in 2010 D e c i sion s b y an authori z e d a dmini s tr at or of V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

w Di git al Reposit ory

. F or mor e inform at ion, p le as e c ont a ct Be n j amin . C arl s on@l a

w . vi ll anova . e du . Re c omme nde d C it at ion " G a briel v . Atty Ge n U SA" (2010). 2010 D e cisio n s . P ape r 1147. http://d i git alc ommon s .l a

w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2010/1147H onor abl e N oel L . H i l l m an, U ni t ed St at es D i s tr i ctJ udge forthe D i s tr i ctof N ew * J e rs e y , s ittin g b yd e s ig n a tio n . NOT P RE CE DE NT I AL UN I TED STATES CO UR T OF A PP EALS F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT 

### Nos . 06- 2898 and 06- 5079 GI LBERTO C. GA BRI EL, Pet i t i oner

v. ATTO RN EY G ENER AL O F THE UN I TED STATES R es pondent P ET I TI ON FOR RE VI EW OF ORDERS O F TH E B O A RD O F I M M I G RA TI O N A PPEA LS

( A gencyN o. A 29- 978- 111) I m m i gr at i on J udge: A nni e S. G ar cy Subm i t t ed U nderT hi r d C i r cui tL A R 34. 1( a)

M ay10, 2010 B efor e: B A R R Y , R O T H , C i r cui tJ udges and H I L L M A N D i s tr i ctJ udge * ( O pi ni on Fi l ed: J une 17, 2010)

OP I NI ONG a b ri e l d o e s n o t c o n te s t th is ru lin g in h is p e titio n f o r r e v ie w . 1 -2- B A R R Y , C i r cui tJ udge. G i l bert o G abr i el pet i t i ons forr evi ew of the deni al of hi s appl i cat i on for canc el l at i on of r emoval beca us e he di d notdemonstr at e thathe had r es i ded i n the U ni t ed S tate s f o r a ten -y e a r p e rio d . H e a lso p e tit io n s f o r re v iew o f

th e d e n ial o f

h is m o tio n to re o p e n h is re m o v a l p ro c e e d in g s o n th e b a sis o f in e f f e c tiv e a ss ista n c e o f

c o u n se l. W e w ill g ra n t th e f

irst p e tit io n f

o r re v iew a n d d e n yth e se c o n d a s m o o t.

I. B e c a u se w e w rite s o lelyf o r th e p a rties , w h o a re f a m ili a r w ith th e re c o rd , w e w ill notext ens i vel ys etfor th t he fa ct s . G abr i el , a ci t i zen of G uat emal a, ent er ed the U ni t ed S t a t e s wi th o u ti n s p e c t i o n th r o u g h M e x i c o a ta g e f o u r t e e n . He h a s s o l e c u s t o d yo f h i s t wo daught er s , ages el even a nd tw el ve, both of w hom ar e U . S. ci t i zens . O n J ul y3, 2001, G abr i el w as s erved w i th a not i ce t o appea rforr emoval pr ocee di ngs . T he not i ce s t at ed thatG abr i el ent er ed the U ni t ed St at es on oraboutA pr i l 1, 1991. H e conc eded the al l egat i ons i n t he not i ce, exce ptforthe dat e of e ntry , butar gued thathe w as el i gi bl e for a sy lu m a n d c a n c e llatio n o f re m o v a l. A t th e h e a rin g o n Ja n u a ry2 8 , 2 0 0 5 , the Im m ig ra tio n Ju d g e (“ IJ” ) f irst d e n ied h is re q u e s t f o r a s y lu m . W ith re s p e c t to c a n c e lla tio n o f re m o v a l, G a b ri e l h a d to p ro v e , i nt er 1 a lia , th a t h e h a d b e e n p h y s ic a lly p re s e n t in th e U n ite d S ta te s f o r a t le a s t te n y e a rs . 8T h e iss u e b e f o re th e IJ w a s th e len g th o f G a b rie l’s p re se n c e , rath e r th a n its 2 c o n t i n u i ty. -3- U . S. C . § 1229b( b) ( 1) ( A ) . T he per i od of cont i nuous phy s i cal pr es ence i s deemed t o end 2 w hen the ali en is served w i th a n oti ce t o ap pear. 8 U . S . C . § 1 22 9b (d) (1) . B ecause G abr i el w as s erved w i th t he not i ce t o appea ron J ul y3, 2001, he had t o pr ove thathe had b e e n p re s e n t in th e U n ite d S ta te s s in c e J u ly 3 , 1 9 9 1 . G abr i el t es t i fi ed ( thr ough an i nt erpr et er ) thathe l eftG uat emal a i n 1989 and w ent t o M exi co, w her e he s t ay ed forovera y ear . H e t es t i fi ed thathe ent er ed the U ni t ed St at es o n M ay2 8 , 1 9 9 1 in A ri zo n a, an d then tr av eled to S o u th C aro li n a, w h ere h e w o rke d fo r a f a rm e r. A f

ter liv in g in S o u th C a ro lin a f o r a p p ro x im a telytw o m o n th s, h e m o v e d to Fl or i da. I n addi t i on t o G abr i el ’ s t es t i m ony , s ever al document s admi t t ed atthe hea r i ng not ed an entrydat e of M ay28, 1991. G abr i el had fi l ed an a s y l um appl i cat i on and empl oym ent author i zat i on form dat ed D ece m ber16, 1991 thatl i s t ed hi s arr i val dat e as M ay28, 1991 in N o g a le s , A ri z o n a a n d h is U .S . a d d re s s in F lo ri d a . T h e f o rm s w e re s ig n e d w ith a n “ x ,” w hi ch G abr i el coul d notr eca l l m aki ng. H e fi l ed anotheras y l um appl i cat i on and empl oym entauthor i zat i on form dat ed N ovember28, 1994 thatl i s t ed an a rr i val dat e of M ay28 , 19 91 i n N og al es. H aving l earned to si gn his nam e, G abri el si gn ed b oth of t hese form s . T he 1994 as y l um appl i cat i on had appa r ent l ybeen a l t er ed byan as y l um offi cer dur i ng G abr i el ’ s 2001 as y l um i nt ervi ew bycr os s i ng outthe M ay28, 1991 dat e and“A . R . ” r efe r s t o t he admi ni s tr at i ve r ecor d i n N o. 06- 2898. 3 -4- w r i t i ng “A pr i l 1991” as the entr ydat e. G abr i el di d notknow w hythe as y l um offi cer re c o rd e d th e A p ri l d a te o n th e f o rm . O nl yone documentl i s t ed an e ntrydat e af t erJ ul y3, 1991 ( the dat e af t erw hi ch any p e rio d o f p h y sic a l p re se n c e w o u ld b e les s th a n ten y e a rs f ro m th e d a te th e n o tice to appea rw as s erved) : a depa r tur e contr ol car d i s s ued t o G abr i el i n M ay1993 aft erhe w as s t opped byi m m i gr at i on offi ci al s , l i s t i ng hi s entrydat e as J ul y29, 1991. G abr i el t es t i fi ed that“[the i m m i gr at i on offi cer s ] di dn’ ts peak Spani s h s o I don’ tknow w hathappene d” w i th r es pectt o t he dat e thatw as w r i t t en dow n. ( A . R . 158. ) H e s ai d: “Perhaps they 3 d idn ’tu n d erstan d m e b ec au se th e o ff icers h ad a lot o f p eo p le de tai n ed . T h eyw ere w r i t i ng veryqui ckl yi n a not ebook. ” (I d. 159. ) G abr i el expl ai ned thatthe other i nform at i on on the form ( s uch as hi s addr es s ) w as corr ectbeca us e he ha d an I D car d fr om w h ic h th e o f

f ic e r g o t th e in f

o rm a tio n . T he I J deni ed G abr i el ’ s appl i cat i on forcanc el l at i on of r emoval on the s ol e bas i s of the t en- y earphy s i cal pr es ence r equi r ement . A l though s he ac know l edged thatG abr i el had e n ter e d th e U n ited S tate s a s a y o u n g , u n a c c o m p a n ied m in o r w h o w a s n o t ev e n a b le to s i gn hi s name, s he found thats he coul d notr el ys ol el yon hi s t es t i m onybeca us e he “ i s not a per s on w ho can be r el i ed upon t o r emem berthi ngs acc ur at el y ” ( A . R . 44) gi ven thathe w as unabl e t o r eca l l cert ai n det ai l s r egar di ng hi s fi r s tm onths i n the U ni t ed St at es and the fi l i ng of hi s as y l um appl i cat i ons . She al s o found thatthe document aryevi denceA l though w e ar e pr ecl uded fr om r evi ew i ng the age ncy ’ s di s cr et i onarydet erm i nat i on 4 a s to w h e th e r a n a lien e sta b lish e d th a t re m o v a l w o u ld re su lt i n e x c e p tio n a l an d e x tre m e ly u n u s u a l h a rd s h ip u n d e r 8 U .S .C . § 1 2 2 9 b (b )( 1 )( D ), Me n d ez-Mo ra n c h e l v. A sh c ro ft , 338 F. 3d 176, 178 ( 3d C i r . 2003) , w hetheran al i en has m etthe phy s i cal pr es ence r equi r ement i s a “s i m pl yobj ect i ve, fac tual det erm i nat i on[] ” thatcourt s have f ound t o be non- -5- pr es ent ed w as i ns uffi ci entt o es t abl i s h thatG abr i el had bee n pr es enti n the countryfort en y ea rs, n o ti n g inco n sist en cies a m o n g the d o cu m en ts, inco n sist en cies w e d iscu ss in m o re d e ta il b e lo w . G abr i el appea l ed t o t he B oar d of I m m i gr at i on A ppeal s ( “B I A ”) , w hi ch d ism issed the a p p ea l on M ay8 , 2 0 0 6 in a p er c u ri am o rde r. Itag ree d w ith the IJ that “[t ]he r ecord co ntai ns con tradi ct oryevidence as t o the l eng th o f [G abri el ’s ] p h y s ic a l p re s e n c e in th e U n ite d S ta te s ” th a t G a b ri e l f a ile d to c o n v in c in g ly ex p la in . ( A . R . 2. ) G abr i el fi l ed a pe t i t i on forr evi ew i n thi s C our t , N o. 06- 2898. A ft er re tain in g h is c u rre n t co u n se l, G a b rie l f iled a m o tio n b e f

o re th e B IA to re o p e n h is r e mo v a l p r o c e e d i n g s o n th e b a s i s o f i n e f f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e o f

c o u n s e l . On N ovember17, 2006, the B I A deni ed the mot i on, fi ndi ng thatG abr i el had not compl i ed w i th t he pr ocedur al r equi r ement s of M at t erof Lozada , 19 I . & N . D ec. 637 ( B I A 1988) , and hol di ng i n t he al t ernat i ve thatG abr i el had notbeen pr ej udi ced byanyof hi s att orney ’ s act i ons . G abr i el fi l ed anotherpet i t i on for re v ie w in th is C o u rt , N o . 0 6 -5 0 7 9 . II. W e have j ur i s di ct i on pur s uantt o 8 U . S. C . § 1252( a) . W hen the B I A ’ s deci s i on 4d is c re tio n a ry a n d th u s re v ie w a b le , Johns on v. A t t ’ y G en. of

U. S. , - - F . 3 d - - , 2 0 1 0 WL 1 5 0 8 2 8 6 , a t * 1 n .2 (3 d C ir . 2 0 1 0 ). -6- s ubs t ant i al l yr el i es on the I J ’ s deci s i on, as her e, w e r evi ew both deci s i ons fors ubs t ant i al e v id e n c e . Kai ta v. A t t ’

y G en. of

U. S. , 5 2 2 F .3 d 2 8 8 , 2 9 5 (3 d C ir. 2 0 0 8 ). W e w ill “ u p h o ld the age ncy ’ s fi ndi ngs of fa ctt o t he ext entthattheyar e s uppor t ed byr eas onabl e, s ubs t ant i al , and pr obat i ve evi dence on the r ecor d cons i der ed as a w hol e. ” C a o v. A tt ’y G en. of U . S. , 407 F. 3d 146, 152 ( 3d C i r . 2005) ( i nt ernal quot at i on m arks and ci t at i on o m itt e d ); see al

so 8 U .S .C . § 1 2 5 2 (b )(4 )(B ). W e re v iew a d v e rse c re d ib ili ty d e ter m in a tio n s, in c lu d in g “ in c o n sis ten t sta tem e n ts, c o n tra d icto rye v id e n c e , an d in h e re n tly i m pr obabl e t es t i m ony , ” fors ubs t ant i al evi dence and af for d s uch fi ndi ngs “s ubs t ant i al defe r ence s o l ong as the fi ndi ngs ar e s uppor t ed bys peci fi c coge ntr eas ons . . . [thatar e] s ubs t ant i al and bea ra l egi t i m at e nexus t o the fi ndi ng. ” C ao , 407 F. 3d at152 ( i nt ernal q u o tat ion m ark s an d cit ati o n s o m itted). I I I . W e conc l ude thatthe det erm i nat i on thatG abr i el di d notdemonstr at e hi s phy s i cal pr es ence i n t he U ni t ed St at es fora t en- y earper i od as of J ul y3, 1991 i s nots uppor t ed by s ubs t ant i al evi dence . F irst, th e IJ’ s c h a ra c ter iza tio n o f G a b rie l’s m e m o rya s b e in g u n re a so n a b lyp o o r is n o t su p p o rte d b ysu b sta n tial e v id e n c e . T h e IJ c riticiz e d G a b rie l f o r n o t b e in g a b le to rem em b er d etail s ab o u t his t im e in S o u th C aro li n a, w h ere h e li v ed n ea rl yfo u rt ee n y ea rs-7-

befor e the hea r i ng, w hen he w as four t een y ear s ol d and di d nots peak Engl i s h. I tw as unr eas onabl e of the I J t o expec tG abr i el t o r emem berhi s addr es s i n Sout h C ar ol i na – and i ndeed, everyaddr es s w her e he ha d everr es i ded i n the U ni t ed St at es . M or eover , G abr i el d i d i n f a c tp r o v i d e i n f

o r ma t i o n a b o u tth e two mo n th s h e s p e n ti n S o u th Ca r o l i n a . He tes tifie d th a t h e w e n t to S o u th C a ro lin a b e c a u se th e p e rso n w h o g a v e h im a rid e in A r i zona t ol d hi m ther e w as w or k avai l abl e ther e. H e w or ked fora fa r m eri n the t ow n of “M anni ngs on orM anni ngt on. ” ( A . R . 170. ) G abr i el expl ai ned thathe di d nothave a ny document at i on of hi s empl oym entbeca us e he w as pai d i n cas h. H e w as unabl e t o pr ovi de pr oof thathe l i ved i n Sout h C ar ol i na ( by , forexampl e, a l eas e orut i l i tybi l l s ) beca us e “the farm erw oul d pr ovi de eve r ythi ng forus . ” (I d. 1 7 1 .) H e tes tifie d th a t h e w a s n o lo n g e r in to u c h w ith a n y o n e h e k n e w in S o u th C a ro lin a , tes tim o n yth e IJ f o u n d to b e re a so n a b le in lig h t o f th e c ir c u m s ta n c e s . T he IJ al so dis cou nted G abri el ’s t est i m on ybecau se he de nied m aking t he “x ” as a sig n a tu re o n th e 1 9 9 1 a sy lu m a n d e m p lo ym e n t au th o riz a tio n f o rm s. A lth o u g h G a b rie l d id tes tifyth a t h e typ ica llysig n e d d o c u m e n ts w ith h is f in g e rp rin t b e f

o re lea rn in g to sig n h is name, he expl ai ned thathe w oul d m ake a n “x” i f as ked. T her e w as neveranys er i ous di s put e thatthe form s pert ai ned t o G abr i el , and he w as abl e t o pr ovi de otheri nform at i on a b o u t h o w h e f

ille d th e m o u t. Second, the I J and B I A i m pr oper l yr ej ect ed the document aryevi dence s uppor t i ng G abr i el ’ s cl ai m thathe ent er ed the U ni t ed St at es on M ay28, 1991 bas ed on-8-

i ncons i s t enci es among t he r el evantdocument s . T he I J corr ect l ynot ed the di s cr epanc i es a m o n g th e 1 9 9 1 a n d 1 9 9 4 a sy lu m f o rm s a n d G a b rie l’s te stim o n yw ith re sp e c t to h is d a te o f d e p a r tu r e f

r o m Gu a t e ma l a , wh e th e rh e tr a v e l e d th r o u g h M e x i c o , a n d h o w mu c h t i me h e sp en t th ere . T h e e n tryd ate o n the f o rm s, h o w ev er, w as c o n sist en t w ith G ab ri el’s t est i m on ythat he enter ed the U nit ed S t at es on M ay28 , 19 91 . A s the IJ not ed, these d o c u m e n ts w e re c re a ted a t a tim e w h e n G a b rie l h a d n o id e n tifie d m o tiv e to lie a b o u t h is e n tr yd a te . C

f . A cev edo-A gui larv. Mukas ey , 517 F. 3d 8, 10 ( 1s tC i r . 2008) ( ci t i ng the entrydat e pr ovi ded on as y l um form as evi dence of w hen pet i t i onerent er ed the U ni t ed St at es ) . W i th r es pectt o t he A pr i l 1991 dat e thatw as w r i t t en overM ay28, 1991 on the 1 9 9 4 a s y lu m a p p lic a tio n , it is u n c le a r w h yth is d a te la te r a p p e a re d o n th e f o rm . C f. Ko ry tn y u k v . A sh c ro

ft , 3 9 6 F .3 d 2 7 2 , 2 8 9 -9 0 (3 d C ir. 2 0 0 5 ) (“ [ W ]e a re ‘g e n e ra lly s kept i cal ’ of us i ng r eport s of as y l um i nt ervi ew s as the bas i s forfi ndi ng an appl i cantl acks cr edi bi l i tyw her e the cont extfors uch i nt ervi ew s i s uncl ear , ” s uch as how the i nt ervi ew w as cond ucted and w hetherthe im m i granthad trouble und ers t and i ng the q uest i on s) (c itatio n o m itt e d ). In a n ye v e n t, A p ril 1 9 9 1 is e a rlier th a n M a y2 8 , 1 9 9 1 , an d is th e d a te l i s t ed bythe governm enton G abr i el ’ s not i ce t o appea r . W i th r es pectt o the J ul y29, 1991 entrydat e thatw as l i s t ed on G abr i el ’ s 1993 departur e ca r d, he expl ai ned the ci r cumst ance s of hi s encount erw i th i m m i gr at i on offi ci al s , s ay i ng thati tw as chaot i c and th e re w a s a la n g u a g e b a rr ie r. F inally , w e n o te th at th e lac k o f o ther d o cu m en taryev iden ce reg ard ing G ab ri el’sG abr i el ’ s i neff ect i ve as s i s t ance of couns el cl ai m focus ed on the phy s i cal pr es ence 5 i s s ue, w hi ch w as the s ol e bas i s forconcl udi ng thathe had notes t abl i s hed el i gi bi l i tyfor canc el l at i on of r emoval . G i ven ourdi s pos i t i on of thi s i s s ue, w e nee d notr eac h the in e f f e c tiv e a s s is ta n c e o f

c o u n s e l c la im p re s e n te d in G a b ri e l’ s s e c o n d p e titio n f o r r e v ie w . -9- entrydat e i s cons i s t entw i th t he ci r cumst ance s of hi s arr i val as an unac compani ed mi nor e n te ri n g w ith o u t in s p e c tio n . S e e Sa n ta n a -A lb a rr a n v . A sh c ro ft , 3 9 3 F .3 d 6 9 9 , 7 0 5 (6 th C ir. 2 0 0 5 ) (n o tin g th a t “a n ill e g a l alie n , w h o se m a n if e st a im is to a v o id d e tec tio n , w ill encount erdi ffi cul typr ovi di ng document at i on of hi s cont i nued pr es ence w i thi n the U ni t ed S tate s f o r th e p a st d e c a d e ” ). T h e lac k o f d o c u m e n tar ye v id e n c e o f G a b rie l’s tim e in Sout h C ar ol i na i s cons i s t entw i th hi s t es t i m onythatthe fa r m erpai d hi m i n cas h and pr ovi ded hi m w i th hous i ng. S e e L o p ez-A lva ra d o v . A sh c ro ft , 3 8 1 F . 3 d 8 4 7 , 8 5 4 (9th C ir . 2004) ( fi ndi ng thatthe I J ’ s demand fordocument aryevi dence w as unr eas onabl e i n l i ght o f p eti ti o n er’s p o sit ion as a stay -at-ho m e c are g iver a n d that the lac k o f d o cu m en tary e v id e n c e w a s in f

a c t c o n s is te n t w ith h e r t e s tim o n y ). G i ven the combi nat i on of t es t i m oni al and document aryevi dence , w e hol d thatt he det erm i nat i on thatG abr i el had notes t abl i s hed the r equi s i t e t en y ear s of cont i nuous p h y s ic a l p re s e n c e in th e U n ite d S ta te s is n o t s u p p o rt e d b ys u b s ta n tia l e v id e n c e . I V. W e w i l l gr antthe pet i t i on forr evi ew i n N o. 06- 2898 and r emand forfur ther p ro c e e d in g s c o n s is te n t w ith th is O p in io n . W e w ill d e n yth e p e titio n f o r r e v ie w in N o . 0 6 -5 0 7 9 a s m o o t. 5