Opinion ID: 3049397
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: August 2011 IJ Hearing

Text: At the August 2011 hearing in immigration court, Cover appeared pro se. The IJ asked Cover, “[A]re you from Jamaica, and you speak English?” Cover responded, “Yes, sir.” Cover asked for additional time to prepare. His hearing was rescheduled for October 27, 2011. D. Cover’s 2011 Motion for Termination of Removal Proceedings Prior to the October 27 hearing, Cover, pro se, filed a “Motion for Termination of Removal Proceedings And Motion for Issuance of an Order Directing the Department of Homeland Security to Renew Expired Permanent Resident Card.” In the motion, Cover admitted that (1) he was a permanent resident, residing in the United States since 1988, and a noncitizen and (2) his permanent resident card expired in June 2009. Cover requested that the IJ order the agency to renew his card. Cover also acknowledged that he had pled guilty to a controlled substance offense and, as a result, was removable. Cover argued that the government was estopped from removing him because it had induced Cover to plead guilty by 3 Case: 13-11023 Date Filed: 07/17/2014 Page: 4 of 16 telling him that he would not be removed. Cover alleged that the promise was made orally; it was not included in his written plea agreement. Cover’s attachments to the motion to terminate included: (1) several letters from Cover’s family members asking that Cover not be removed to Jamaica, two of which stated that Cover’s place of birth was Jamaica and (2) a letter to a prison official, at the correctional facility where Cover was incarcerated, requesting immigration law materials because, inter alia, he was a “deportable alien” and a “non-U.S. citizen[].” E. Pre-October 27, 2011 Government Exhibits Sometime prior to the October 27 hearing, the government filed two exhibits: (1) a Form I-213 Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien, indicating that Cover’s place of birth and citizenship was Jamaica; and (2) a criminal judgment showing that Cover was convicted of the crime described in NTA. A stamp on the judgment, by the U.S. District Court Clerk for the Middle District of Florida, certified the document as a “true and correct copy of the original.” F. October 27, 2011 Removal Order At the October 27, 2011 hearing, the IJ asked Cover if he would admit the allegations in the NTA. Cover admitted he was a convicted felon, but declined to answer further. 4 Case: 13-11023 Date Filed: 07/17/2014 Page: 5 of 16 The IJ found Cover removable to Jamaica. The government pointed out that “for the record . . . all of the matters contained in the NTA are addressed and admitted in some form in [Cover]’s motions that he’s filed with the Court.” G. March 2012 BIA Appeal Cover appealed to the BIA. In March 2012, the BIA remanded Cover’s case to the IJ for further proceedings. The BIA noted that the IJ did not issue a separate oral or written decision setting forth his rationale for ordering Cover removed and therefore ordered the record returned to the IJ for preparation of a full decision. The BIA directed the IJ to determine “anew” whether Cover was removable as charged. H. May 2012 Release from Prison and Request to Subpoena Witnesses In May 2012, Cover finished his criminal sentence and was released to the custody of immigration officials. In the immigration court, Cover filed a “request to Subpoena Witnesses,” including the Assistant U.S. Attorney (“AUSA”) involved in Cover’s criminal case and Cover’s former defense attorneys. Cover’s request alleged that these witnesses could attest to: (1) his cooperation with the government; and (2) the government’s promise that he would not be removed if he pled guilty. 5 Case: 13-11023 Date Filed: 07/17/2014 Page: 6 of 16 The IJ denied the subpoena request because Cover had not established that the evidence was essential to the instant proceedings.2