Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/17pdf/17-459_1o13.pdf
Page Number: 13.0

Cite as:  585 U. S. ____ (2018) 

9 

Opinion of the Court 

In  addressing  that  narrower  question,  the  Court  need 
not resort to Chevron deference, as some lower courts have 
done, for Congress has supplied a clear and unambiguous 
answer  to  the  interpretive  question  at  hand.    See  467 
U. S., at 842–843 (“If the intent of Congress is clear, that
is the end of the matter; for the court, as well as the agency,
must  give  effect  to  the  unambiguously  expressed  intent 
of  Congress”).  A  putative  notice  to  appear  that  fails  to 
designate  the  specific  time  or  place  of  the  noncitizen’s 
removal  proceedings  is  not  a  “notice  to  appear  under 
section  1229(a),”  and  so  does  not  trigger  the  stop-time 
rule. 

B 

The  statutory  text  alone  is  enough  to  resolve  this  case. 
Under  the  stop-time  rule,  “any  period  of  . . .  continuous 
physical presence” is “deemed to end . . . when the alien is 
served  a  notice  to  appear  under  section  1229(a).”    8 
U. S. C.  §1229b(d)(1).    By  expressly  referencing  §1229(a),
the statute specifies where to look to find out what “notice
to  appear”  means.    Section  1229(a),  in  turn,  clarifies  that 
the  type  of  notice  “referred  to  as  a  ‘notice  to  appear’ ” 
throughout  the  statutory  section  is  a  “written  notice  . . . 
specifying,”  as  relevant  here,  “[t]he  time  and  place  at 
[removal]  proceedings  will  be  held.” 
which 
§1229(a)(1)(G)(i).  Thus,  based  on  the  plain  text  of  the 
statute,  it  is  clear  that  to  trigger  the  stop-time  rule,  the
Government  must  serve  a  notice  to  appear  that,  at  the
very least, “specif[ies]” the “time and place” of the removal 
proceedings.

the 

It is true, as the Government and dissent point out, that
the  stop-time  rule  makes  broad  reference  to  a  notice  to 

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tation is a permissible construction of the statute.  Post, at 10 (opinion
 
of ALITO, J.).