Opinion ID: 867971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Rosario-Mijangos’s Testimony

Text: At the hearing, Rosario-Mijangos testified that he had first entered the United states, illegally, in October 1994, when he was 13 years old. He has now, and had in the summer of 2007, a wife and two children, all of whom are United States citizens. On July 22, 2007, Rosario-Mijangos left the United States to visit relatives in Mexico. He attempted to return on August 29, 2007, along with several other individuals, but he and his companions encountered immigration officials one day after crossing the border. The officials brought them to a processing center, where they took Rosario-Mijangos’s photograph and fingerprints. At the hearing, Rosario-Mijangos was presented with two documents, a Form I- 213, a “Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien,” and a Form I-826, a “Notice of Rights and Request for Disposition.” Both forms were dated August 30, 2007. The latter was written in Spanish, which Rosario-Mijangos can read, and it bore his signature. Above the signature, and under the heading, “Request for Disposition,” were three paragraphs of text. To the left of each paragraph was a box in which a checkmark might be placed and a space for initials. The first two paragraphs stated, respectively, in Spanish: “I request a hearing before the Immigration Court to determine whether or not I may remain in the United States.”; and “I believe that I would face harm if returned to my country. My case will be referred to an immigration court for a hearing.” The third paragraph, also in Spanish, read: 4 I admit that I am in the United States illegally. I don’t believe I will face harm if I return to my country. I wa[i]ve my right to a hearing before the Immigration Court. I wish to return to my country as soon as arrangements can be made for my departure. I understand that I may be held in detention until my departure. The box to the left of the third paragraph contained an “x”; “L.R.,” RosarioMijangos’s initials, were written in the space next to it; and a circle had been drawn around the checked box and the initials. No such markings appear next to the first two paragraphs. Rosario-Mijangos acknowledged that he had signed the Form I-826, but denied that he had read it before signing. He further testified that the circle was already on the paper when it was shown to him, and he was instructed to put his initials inside it. He said he did not draw the “x.” Rosario-Mijangos also denied that he had provided the information contained on the Form I-213, for example that he had entered the United States to seek employment, or that he was single. He claimed that the officials interviewed his companions before interviewing him, and that they had entered the same information on everyone’s forms. According to Rosario-Mijangos, an agent explained only that he was being sent back to Mexico and instructed him to sign the Form I-826. Rosario-Mijangos testified that he had wanted a hearing before an immigration judge, but he did not ask for one. He explained that one of his companions had requested a hearing, and that he overheard an official telling this companion that he would be deported if he went before a judge. After a few hours in the processing center, the 5 immigration officers took Rosario-Mijangos to the border so that he could cross back into Mexico. Several days later, on September 2, 2007, Rosario-Mijangos again entered the United States and again encountered immigration officials. He was brought back to the processing center. An officer asked his name, took his photograph and fingerprints, and told him he would be sent back to Mexico. Rosario-Mijangos was presented at the hearing with a second set of documents, again a Form I–213 and a Form I-826, both dated September 4, 2007. Once again, the Form I-213 indicated that Rosario-Mijangos had entered the United States seeking employment, which he denied telling the officers. Also as before, the third paragraph on the Form I-826 was initialed and marked with an “x,” and the form bore Rosario-Mijangos’s signature. As with the previous Form I-826, Rosario-Mijangos admitted writing the initials but not the “x,” which he claimed was on the paper at the time it was handed to him. Rosario-Mijangos testified that he was told he would be returned to Mexico, and that he was instructed to sign and initial the paper without reading it, that no one informed him he could see an immigration judge, and that he never asked to see one. This time, Rosario-Mijangos spent a day at the processing center before he was returned to the border and crossed back into Mexico. On September 7, 2007, Rosario-Mijangos successfully reentered the United States without encountering any immigration officials. 6