Opinion ID: 175914
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ramos’s Stipulated Removal Proceedings

Text: On May 9, 2006, DHS issued a warrant of arrest and a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) on Ramos in Bakersfield, California. The NTA charged Ramos with removability for commission of a crime involving moral turpitude in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I); commission of a controlled substance violation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2) (A)(i)(II); and presence in the United States without admission or parole in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(I). The NTA also charged that Ramos had a prior conviction for possession of methamphetamine, in violation of California Health and Safety Code § 11377(a); a conviction for inflicting corporal injury, in violation of California Penal Code § 273.5(a); and a conviction for false imprisonment in violation of California Penal Code § 236. On the same day, DHS transferred Ramos from Bakersfield to the Eloy Detention Center (“Eloy”) in Eloy, Arizona. The Eloy Detention Center houses and serves as a transfer point for up to 1,500 alien detainees per day. At Eloy, DHS employs deportation officers who are responsible for assisting DHS’s Office of Chief Counsel in obtaining evidence, conducting interviews with detainees, performing criminal hisUNITED STATES v. RAMOS 16261 tory checks, and escorting detainees who have been ordered removed back to their country of origin. On May 11, 2006, deportation officers presented Ramos with a form entitled “Stipulated Request for Removal Order and Waiver of Hearing” (“Stipulated Removal form” or “form”). The Stipulated Removal form distributed by officers at Eloy contains a series of statements and admissions, written first in English, and below that, translated into Spanish. The form sets forth several stipulations on the part of the alien, some of which are specified in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.25, and some of which are not required by regulation. For example, in Paragraph 4 the alien stipulates: I have been advised of my right to be represented by an attorney of my choice, at my own expense, during these proceedings. I waive this right. I will represent myself in these proceedings. Also not required by the regulation is the stipulation in Paragraph 5, that “I will be giving up the following legal rights that I would have in a hearing before an Immigration Judge: a) the right to question witnesses; b) the right to offer and to object to evidence; c) the right to require the government to prove my removability.” In Paragraph 8, the alien waives any present eligibility for relief from deportation: I knowingly and intelligently waive my right to apply for any relief or protection from removal for which I may be eligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act or any other provision of law. Such relief and protection may include voluntary departure, adjustment of status, suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal, registry, naturalization, political asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. 16262 UNITED STATES v. RAMOS Under Paragraph 13, the alien waives “appeal of the written order of removal.” By signing the form, the detained alien “admit[s] [to] all of the factual allegations contained in the NTA,” concedes deportability or inadmissibility as charged on the NTA, and provides that he or she will accept a written order for removal as a final disposition. The form also specifies that the entire document has been “read to me in a language that I understand” and that “I fully understand its consequences. I submit this request for removal voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently.” See also 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.25(b)(1), (2), (6), (7). The district court held an evidentiary hearing on Ramos’s motion to dismiss. Deportation Officer Christina Olson verified that she had met individually with Ramos on May 11, 2006 after he attended the group presentation and witnessed him sign the Stipulated Removal form. By signing the form, Ramos, who is not fluent in English and speaks Spanish, admitted the allegations included in a second NTA, which charged him with removability for presence in the United States without admission or parole under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). Officer Olson testified that immigration enforcement agents review detainees’ Alien Registration Files (“A-file”) upon their arrival to select detainees for participation in the stipulated removal program instead of scheduling an appearance before the IJ. A detainee is selected for participation in stipulated removal if he or she 1) is a citizen of Mexico, 2) has been in the United States for less than ten years, and 3) has been charged with illegal entry into the United States. Immigration enforcement agents do not read the A-file further to determine whether detainees selected for the stipulated removal program are eligible for any relief from removal. After detainees are selected for participation in the stipulated removal program, deportation officers typically prepare UNITED STATES v. RAMOS 16263 an NTA and a Stipulated Removal form for each individual. Deportation officers then gather detainees selected for the program for a group presentation. There, an immigration enforcement agent explains in Spanish that a detainee has two options: first, to accept stipulated removal, or second, to appear before an IJ, where the detainee may ask to remain legally in the United States or seek voluntary departure. The agent also advises the group that under the stipulated removal program, a detainee can be removed that very day; whereas it could take anywhere from two to three weeks or longer to appear before an IJ if the detainee chooses not to sign the form. The agent then reads the text of the Stipulated Removal form aloud in Spanish, and concludes the presentation. Next, DHS deportation officers meet individually with each detainee to determine whether he or she wants to sign the Stipulated Removal form. Deportation officers do not review the detainee’s A-file at any time before or during the individual meeting. No transcriber, interpreter, or attorney is present during the detainee’s individual meeting with the deportation officer. Asked to describe her individual meeting with Ramos, Officer Olson testified that at the outset, she asks a detainee if he or she speaks English; if so, she continues in English, and if not, she conducts the meeting in Spanish. Olson, however, is not fluent in Spanish, and her Spanish language education was limited to “several classes” during her training with DHS’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). Officer Olson also testified that during the individual meeting, a deportation officer typically verifies the identity of the detainee and information typed on the biographical information sheet, and serves the NTA on the detainee. The deportation officer then determines whether the detainee wants to sign the Stipulated Removal form by asking “whether or not they want to have a court hearing or whether they want to be deported that day.” When encountering Spanish-speaking 16264 UNITED STATES v. RAMOS detainees, Olson asks in the Spanish language a question she understands translates in English to “do you want to fight your case or want to sign?” Officer Olson translated that phrase into Spanish during the hearing. However, the Spanish language court interpreter had difficulty comprehending the question, advising the court that the statement was “nonsensical in part. . . I wouldn’t know how to translate certain parts of that.” She also faulted Officer Olson’s Spanish pronunciation. If Officer Olson feels that a detainee does not understand her, she will try to clarify any questions, will ask another agent to take over the meeting, or will not proceed with the stipulated removal. Otherwise, she has the detainee sign the Stipulated Removal form. Once signed, it is forwarded to the DHS’s Office of Chief Counsel for approval. After approval, DHS counsel submits the detainee’s Stipulated Removal form. DHS also submits a form entitled “Concurrence to Stipulated Request for Removal Order and Waiver of Hearing,” which specifies that the government “concurs with the Respondent’s request pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.25(b) for the Immigration Judge to issue a stipulated removal order without holding a hearing.” At that time, the IJ determines whether to issue a final order of removal based on the form and any other materials submitted by DHS. If the IJ issues an order of removal, deportation officers typically remove the detainee from the United States on the same day. On the day of Ramos’s interview with Officer Olson, the IJ issued a decision finding Ramos removable pursuant to INA § 212(a)(6)(A)(i), and ordering him removed. The IJ found that In his stipulation, respondent states that he understands the consequences of his request and that he has entered his request voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently. The Court finds the alien’s waiver to be voluntary, knowing, and intelligent. . . . The court UNITED STATES v. RAMOS 16265 therefore, finds upon review of the charging document and the written stipulation that he is removable based upon clear and convincing evidence in the form of his own admissions. Respondent makes no application for relief from removal but instead requests an order removing him from this country as soon as possible. DHS officers removed Ramos to Mexico by the end of the day. C. Ramos’s Collateral Attack on His Stipulated Removal Following his November 2007 arrest, Ramos was indicted by a grand jury for violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Ramos pled not guilty, and filed the motion to dismiss the indictment now on appeal. Denying this motion, the district court first concluded that Ramos’s stipulated removal order was valid under United States v. Galicia-Gonzales, 997 F.2d 602 (9th Cir. 1993), placing the burden of proof to show an invalid waiver upon Ramos. Although the district court found “some flaws” in the 2006 stipulated removal proceedings, it concluded that Ramos failed to meet his burden of proof because Officer Olson would have not signed the Stipulated Removal form if she had any doubts as to Ramos’s understanding of the rights he was relinquishing. Alternatively, the court found no showing of prejudice because Ramos was not, as he claimed, eligible for relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) § 212(h), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h). Following a bench trial, the district court found Ramos guilty of violating 8 U.S.C. § 1326.