Opinion ID: 221702
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Proceedings Held On Remand Were Procedurally Fair

Text: We review the sufficiency of the procedural aspects of an immigration hearing de novo. Boyanivskyy v. Gonzales, 450 F.3d 286, 291 (7th Cir.2006). The Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process in deportation proceedings. Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, 306, 113 S.Ct. 1439, 123 L.Ed.2d 1 (1993). This entails a meaningful opportunity to be heard and to present evidence on one's own behalf. Rodriguez Galicia v. Gonzales, 422 F.3d 529, 538 (7th Cir.2005). The petitioner's arguments on this score are very reminiscent of those that were made in her last appeal to this court. While the first round of proceedings below struck us as fundamentally unfair, the same cannot be said of the proceedings that were held on remand. Whereas on the first go-around the petitioner was denied a meaningful opportunity to rebut the government's evidence against her, on remand she was able to cross-examine the government's witnesses (who traveled from Thailand for the proceedings), and to present her own testimony and the testimony of three other witnesses appearing on her behalf. Both parties submitted additional documentary evidence in support of their respective positions and the IJ carefully weighed the evidence on both sides, as evidenced by her lengthy and comprehensive written decision. This is precisely what due process requires in such proceedings. We find that the proceedings were fair and deny the petitioner further review of her petition on due process grounds.