Opinion ID: 788917
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: History of Motions to Reopen and Voluntary Departure

Text: 13 To understand the relationship between motions to reopen and voluntary departure, a short history of these provisions is useful.
14 A motion to reopen is a traditional procedural mechanism in immigration law with a basic purpose that has remained constant — to give aliens a means to provide new information relevant to their cases to the immigration authorities. See Charles Gordon, Stanley Mailman, & Stephen Yale-Loehr, Immigration Law and Procedure § 3.05[7][a] (2004)[herein-after Immigration Law and Procedure ]. Motions to reopen were entertained by the Immigration Bureau at least as early as 1916, 5 and, with the rise of the administrative state, this form of relief was included in regulations. 6 See Achacoso-Sanchez v. INS, 779 F.2d 1260, 1264 (7th Cir.1985); Immigration Law and Procedure § 3.05[7][a]. These regulations did not provide a time limit for motions to reopen. See, e.g., New Regulations Governing the Arrest and Deportation of Aliens § 19.8(a), 6 Fed.Reg. 68, 71-72 (January 4, 1941); 8 C.F.R. § 3.2 (1995); Socop-Gonzalez v. INS, 272 F.3d 1176, 1190 (9th Cir.2001). Then, approximately 50 years later, Congress, in the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90), demonstrated concern that aliens were abusing certain forms of regulatory relief, including motions to reopen. 101 Pub.L. 649, § 545; 104 Stat. 4978, 5066. It directed the Attorney General to conduct a study on the use of motions to reopen and required him to place limits on the time period for, and allowed number of, such motions. Id. 7 Pursuant to IMMACT 90, the Department of Justice promulgated a final rule on April 29, 1996 that required that any motion[to reopen] must be filed not later than 90 days after the date on which the final administrative decision was rendered in the proceeding sought to be reopened.... Executive Office for Immigration Review; Motions and Appeals in Immigration Proceedings, 61 Fed.Reg. 18,900, 18,905 (April 29, 1996). 15 Significantly, a major change in the status of motions to reopen came in 1996 with the enactment of IIRIRA. Motions to reopen were transformed from a regulatory to a statutory form of relief. Specifically, IIRIRA provided the first statutory right to a motion to reopen. 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(6)(A) (1996). This statutory authorization has remained to the present day. 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(6)(A) (2004). In addition, the regulations creating a 90-day filing period and limiting aliens to a single motion to reopen that the Department of Justice had promulgated were enacted as statutory requirements. 8 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(6)(C)(i) (2004); 104 Pub.L. 208 § 304 (amending § 240(c)(6)(C)(i) of the INA) (Except as provided in this subparagraph, the motion to reopen shall be filed within 90 days of the date of entry of a final administrative order of removal.). 16 These new statutory provisions were implemented by 8 C.F.R. § 3.2(c) (1997) 9 and recodified as 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c) (2004). 10 Important to the case before us, neither the statute nor the BIA regulations establish a time by which the BIA must make its decision regarding a motion to reopen. In practice, it takes the BIA more than a month and often many months or even years to issue a decision. See, e.g., Press Release, Dept. of Justice, Attorney General Issues Final Rule Reforming Board of Immigration Appeals Procedure (August 23, 2002) available at http:// www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2002/ August/02_eoir_489.htm (last visited November 19, 2004) (explaining that, as of February 2002, the BIA had a back load of 56,000 cases, over 10,000 of which had been pending for more than three years).
17 Voluntary departure also has a long history in American immigration law, dating back at least through four generations of immigrants. 11 It was a device originally developed by administrative officers, in the absence of a specific mandate in the statute. Immigration Law and Procedure § 74.02[1]. In 1940, Congress first provided statutory authority for voluntary departure. Id. (explaining that the Alien Registration Act of 1940 § 20, 54 Stat. 670, 672-73, first statutorily provided this relief). Voluntary departure serves the practical goals of reducing the costs associated with deporting individuals from the United States and providing a mechanism for illegal aliens to leave the country without being subject to the stigma or bars to future relief that are part of the sanction of deportation. 12 Prior to IIRIRA, the authority for voluntary departure was contained in INA § 244(e), 8 U.S.C. § 1254(e) (1995) (repealed 1996), which provided no time restriction on the period of voluntary departure. In practice, voluntary departure was granted for generous periods of time. See Austin T. Fragomen, Jr. & Steven C. Bell, Immigration Fundamentals § 7:4.6[A] (4th ed. 2004) (Voluntary departure was often granted for periods exceeding 120 days under [pre-IIRIRA] law, sometimes in one or two-year increments for certain classes of aliens.); Stephen Yale-Loehr & Stanley Mailman, Myth of April 1: How the 1996 Immigration Law Affects People Out of Status in the U.S., available at http:// www.clubcyrus.com/twmlaw/resources/1996/19963cont.htm (last visited November 19, 2004) (explaining that, before IIRIRA, the INS often granted voluntary departure for up to a year at a time.). 18 IIRIRA drastically limited the time allowed for voluntary departure. Aliens can now be granted a maximum of 120 days, if voluntary departure is granted before the conclusion of the proceedings before the immigration judge, 13 and 60 days, if granted when the immigration judge enters his order. 14 IIRIRA § 304; (creating INA § 240B, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1229c (2004)). Generally, the EOIR, INS, and DHS have interpreted this deadline strictly. See, e.g., 8 C.F.R. § 1240.26(f) (2004) (In no event can the total period of time, including any extension, exceed 120 days or 60 days as set forth in section 240B of the Act [8 U.S.C. § 1229c]). However, in issuing the latest regulations concerning the relationship between these provisions, the Department of Justice explained that it has not adopted any position on the question before us today: the effect of voluntary departure periods on motions to reopen. Inspection and Expedited Removal of Aliens; Detention and Removal of Aliens; Conduct of Removal Proceedings; Asylum Procedures, 62 Fed.Reg. 10,312, 10,325-26 (March 6, 1997) (interim rule). Accordingly, we today confront a BIA adjudicatory decision rather than a product of reasoned notice-and-comment rulemaking.