Opinion ID: 775575
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: a likelihood of success on the merits;

Text: 91 (2) that irreparable harm would occur if a stay is not granted; (3)that the potential harm to the movant outweighs the harm to the opposing party if a stay is not granted; and (4) that the granting of the stay would serve the public interest. 92 Sofinet v. INS, 188 F.3d 703, 706 (7th Cir. 1999). Additionally, in an unpublished order, this Court has required aliens seeking a stay of deportation to establish substantially similar criteria. See Haddad v. INS, No. 99-4016, 2001 WL 302048 at  3 (6th Cir. Mar. 22, 2001) (referencing the Court's September 30, 1999 order denying an alien's motion for a stay pending appeal). 93 Prior to the passage of IIRIRA, an alien such as Bejjani would have been entitled to an automatic stay upon petitioning for review of an immigration decision. See8 U.S.C. § 1105(a)(3) (1994), repealed by 8 U.S.C. §1252(b)(3)(B). We are well aware that IIRIRA eliminated the automatic stay provision, and thus, aliens are no longer entitled to a stay. We believe, however, that the criteria set forth above establish the appropriate standard for issuing a stay of removal pending appeal. 94 The INS correctly argues that the stay issued in the matter was not necessary to preserve judicial review. Section 1252(b)(3)(B) indicates that an alien with a meritorious petition may be removed before a court's review is complete. In our February 8, 2001 Order granting Bejjani's request for a stay of the order of deportation, we indicated that this matter presented a substantial question of law, noting that the Ninth Circuit's Castro-Cortez decision calls into question the authority of the INS to issue the January 29 order of reinstatement. Thus, whether or not the stay was necessary, it was well justified under the standard enunciated above. Bejjani had a strong likelihood of success on the merits, and he would have been removed from the country absent the stay. Although his removal may not have been a totally irreparable harm, the potential harm was substantial, particularly in light of the important question of law presented by his petition for review. Furthermore, the potential harm to Bejjani greatly outweighed any inconvenience to the INS, and the stay certainly served the public interest of ensuring that the INS complies with the law. Therefore, even though we were not required to stay Bejjani's removal order in order to preserve review of this matter, we find that we did not err in doing so. E. Stay of Reporting Requirement 95 In addition to staying the execution of Bejjani's order of removal, in our February 8, 2001 Order, we also stayed the requirement that Bejjani report to an immigration officer on February 9, 2001 for deportation. The INS subsequently moved the Court to modify the order, to require Bejjani to report to an immigration officer. The INS argued that pursuant to INA § 241, 8 U.S.C. § 1231, it has the authority to detain an alien during a removal period and to provide for supervised release upon the expiration of the removal period. We did not rule on the INS motion. 96 Under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(2), the Attorney General has the authority to detain an alien during the removal period. The removal period is the period of 90 days after an alien is ordered removed. See8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(A). Under 8U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(B), however, the removal period does not begin until the latest of: (i) the date the order of removal becomes administratively final; (ii) if the removal order is judicially reviewed and if a court orders a stay of the removal of the alien, the date of the court's final order; or (iii) if the alien is detained or confined (except under an immigration process), the date the alien is released from detention or confinement. 97 In this case, Bejjani petitioned for judicial review, and the Court ordered a stay of his removal. Under §1231(a)(1)(B)(ii), the period of removal would not begin until the date of the Court's final order. Thus, the INS did not have the authority to detain Bejjani because the removal period had not begun.