Opinion ID: 757642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Suspension of Deportation Issue

Text: 32 The second issue in this case is the failure of the Immigration Judge sua sponte to inform Asani of his right to apply for the benefit of suspension of deportation. 33 For Asani to have been able to establish eligibility for suspension of deportation at the time of his deportation hearing, Asani had to meet the requirements of § 244(a) of the INA. 4 Specifically, he had to demonstrate that: (1) he has been physically present in the United States for at least seven continuous years; (2) he has been a person of good moral character during that time; and (3) he would suffer extreme hardship if deported. 8 U.S.C. § 1254(a)(1) (1996) (repealed); Urban, 123 F.3d at 648. 34 Under 8 C.F.R. § 242.17(a), the IJ sua sponte has the duty to advise an apparently eligible deportee of the right to seek suspension of deportation. Specifically, § 242.17(a) requires that [t]he immigration judge shall inform the respondent of his or her apparent eligibility to apply for any of the benefits enumerated in this paragraph [which includes suspension of deportation under § 244(a) ] and shall afford the respondent an opportunity to make application therefor during the hearing. Because an alien or his or her attorney might be unaware of certain available benefits under the complicated immigration laws, the rule giving the IJ the duty of informing the deportee of the right to seek suspension of deportation is intended to protect the alien against the risk of error by his or her lawyer. 35 At the time of the deportation hearing, Asani had resided in the United States continuously for over seven years (from October 14, 1988 until March 18, 1996) and thus appeared to have been eligible for the benefit of suspension of deportation. Asani also had been found to be a person of good moral character by the BIA when determining his entitlement to another type of statutory relief. Under § 242.17(a), the IJ had a duty to inform Asani of his apparent eligibility for suspension of deportation and allow him to present evidence demonstrating that he would suffer extreme hardship if deported. The IJ failed to notify Asani of this right. As a result, Asani did not apply for suspension of deportation at the hearing. 36 Because of the rule requiring that the IJ inform Asani of his right to seek suspension of deportation, the failure of Asani's lawyer to object at the deportation hearing was not a waiver of Asani's right to apply for suspension of deportation. However, the situation becomes more complicated because Asani did not raise the issue before the BIA, so that the BIA was not able to correct the IJ's error. The majority of the BIA did not address the IJ's error and affirmed the order of deportation. However, the dissenting board member recognized the IJ's failure to inform Asani of his right of suspension of deportation and found that such error rendered the proceeding below unlawful. 37 We need not reach the question of whether Asani's failure to raise the IJ's error before the BIA may have prevented us, by virtue of the doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies, from considering the issue because INS counsel represented at the oral argument that an untimely filing of a motion to reopen based on the IJ's error may be permissible under new regulations. Specifically, INS counsel explained that Asani had two opportunities to raise the regulatory issue before the BIA. First, he could have raised it on direct appeal from the IJ's decision, which Asani predictably did not do based on the fact that he failed to raise it before the IJ and was seemingly unaware of this benefit. Second, Asani could have moved to reopen the deportation proceedings to apply for discretionary suspension of deportation after the dissenting board member of the BIA identified the issue sua sponte. Under the regulations, an alien can move to reopen to apply for discretionary relief if such relief was not fully explained and if he was not afforded an opportunity to apply. See 8 C.F.R. § 3.2(c)(1). Because Asani did not make a motion to reopen within the time frame set by regulation, see 8 C.F.R. § 3.2(c), INS counsel noted that a motion to reopen filed now would be untimely. However, INS counsel then suggested that even though his motion to reopen on the suspension issue is now untimely, that untimeliness may be excused so that the agency can fully effectuate the recent legislation enacted by Congress [specifically, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) ]. 5 38 Based on this representation at the oral argument by INS counsel that an untimely filing of a motion to reopen the suspension of deportation issue due to the IJ's error may be permissible under new regulations, we order a limited remand to enable Asani to file such a motion and retain jurisdiction of the appeal pending that limited remand. See Caterpillar, 138 F.3d at 1107-1108; Mirchandani, 836 F.2d at 1224. In the event that the INS, contrary to its representation, does not permit Asani's filing of a motion to reopen the suspension of deportation issue, since this panel retains jurisdiction, Asani's petition for review in this Court will be reactivated in order for us to address the procedural issue of the exhaustion of administrative remedies, unless the issue is mooted by the BIA's granting asylum on the basis of newly discovered evidence of changed circumstances in the home country. 39 As a brief comment on the procedural issue of whether Asani's failure to raise the IJ's error before the BIA precludes appellate jurisdiction, we note this Court's recently issued opinion of Kossov v. INS, 132 F.3d 405 (7th Cir.1998), which involved a situation where the alleged failure to exhaust administrative remedies did not preclude appellate jurisdiction, and the Ninth Circuit's decision in Duran v. INS, 756 F.2d 1338 (9th Cir.1985), which involved facts similar to the instant case. 40 In Kossov, the IJ denied the Kossovs' application for asylum but granted them the privilege of voluntary departure in lieu of deportation, and, in the alternative, ordered them deported to Russia. The Kossovs appealed the decision to the BIA on the asylum issue but did not argue any error in the designation of their country of deportation. 132 F.3d at 407. The BIA affirmed the IJ's decision, and the Kossovs appealed to the Seventh Circuit, arguing, inter alia, that the order of deportation to Russia was not justified because the deportation hearing focused on evidence regarding deportation to Latvia and that the IJ violated his duty to advise them of their right to introduce evidence specifically directed against deportability to Russia according to 8 C.F.R. § 242.17(c)(2). Id. at 407, 408. The INS argued that the Kossovs were not entitled to raise the issue of the IJ's designation of their country of deportation on appeal to the Seventh Circuit because they did not raise it before the BIA, claiming that this failure to exhaust available administrative remedies deprived the Seventh Circuit of jurisdiction. Id. at 407. 41 Recognizing the IJ's violation of his duty to advise the Kossovs of their right to apply for withholding of deportation with respect to any country specified as a possible deportation site and to give them a full opportunity to present evidence concerning their fears of persecution in Russia, we held that the Kossovs' failure to raise their claim before the BIA did not deprive this Court of jurisdiction because the BIA should have recognized sua sponte such a fundamental failure of due process. Id. at 408. Concluding that the Kossovs' failure to raise the designation issue before the BIA was immaterial, we held that we had jurisdiction to consider the petition. Id. 42 Based on INS counsel's representation that Asani may be able to file an untimely motion to reopen the suspension of deportation issue under new regulations, we do not now need to analyze whether failure to advise a deportee about his eligibility for suspension of deportation is a fundamental failure of due process that should be raised sua sponte by the BIA like the error of failing to advise a deportee of the right to present evidence regarding a designated country of deportation. However, we note that in the event of a fundamental failure of due process, we do not look at the INS' exhaustion argument with favor and will not conclude that failure to raise the issue before the BIA deprives this Court of jurisdiction. 43 Similarly, we note the Ninth Circuit's opinion in Duran, which involved the same legal issue as in Asani's case. In that case, the IJ failed to inform Mrs. Duran of her right to apply for suspension of deportation under § 244 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1254(a)(1), even though he had a duty to do so. 756 F.2d at 1341. Instead of appealing to the BIA, Mrs. Duran filed a motion to reopen the deportation proceedings on the ground that she had not been advised of her eligibility for suspension of deportation. Id. at 1339. The IJ denied her motion to reopen because she had not provided new evidence, and the BIA affirmed. Id. In vacating the BIA's decision, the Ninth Circuit found it insignificant that she did not appeal to the BIA and that she technically did not have new evidence in support of her motion to reopen. The court reasoned that the IJ failed to carry out the responsibility of informing her of her right to apply for relief when the record indicated that she had been in the United States continuously for seven years and thus might be eligible for suspension of deportation. Id. at 1341. This error by the IJ disadvantaged Mrs. Duran because she may have been able to prove extreme hardship and thus qualify for suspension of deportation, but now, due to the IJ's error, she was required to present new evidence in order reopen her case. Id. The court stressed: 44 We do not look with favor upon INS violation of its own regulations. Mendez v. INS, 563 F.2d 956, 959 (9th Cir.1977). Had the INS notified [Mrs. Duran] as required, she may have been able to demonstrate extreme hardship. The INS must be held to the highest standards in the performance of its duties. 45 Id. at 1342. 46 Thus the court vacated the decision denying her motion to reopen and remanded the case with instructions to restore Mrs. Duran to such status as would enable her to apply for suspension of deportation as if she were an alien who received proper notice at the deportation hearing. Id. 47 As emphasized by the Ninth Circuit in Duran, we too do not look with favor upon the INS' reluctance to follow its own regulations and express our displeasure at its handling of this case. See also Mendez, 563 F.2d at 959 ([c]ourts have looked with disfavor upon actions taken by federal agencies which have violated their own regulations). Under INS' regulations, the IJ has an absolute duty to inform a deportee of his apparent eligibility to apply for the benefit of suspension of deportation. The IJ's failure to inform Asani of his right to apply for suspension of deportation is most unfortunate because had Asani been notified of this right, he may have been able to demonstrate extreme hardship and have been granted suspension of deportation and thus could have avoided the more protracted route available to him now.