Opinion ID: 772896
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Farquharson's Eligibility for Relief Under 212(c)

Text: 13 Even if he is deportable under the statute, Farquharson argues that the BIA unconstitutionally interpreted 212(c) of the INA to deny him relief from deportation that is available to similarly situated aliens. He argues that, to preserve his right to equal protection, 212(c) must be construed to permit him to apply for a waiver. The government concedes, and we agree, that our jurisdiction extends to review of substantial constitutional questions raised by a petitioner on direct review. See Richardson v. Reno, 180 F.3d 1311, 1316 n. 5 (11th Cir.1999) (noting that INA 242(a)(2)(C), like IIRIRA 309(c)(4)(G), does not foreclose constitutional challenges to the statute itself or other substantial constitutional issues from being raised in the court of appeals) (Richardson II), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 120 S.Ct. 1529, 146 L.Ed.2d 345 (2000). Richardson II establishes that, like the Seventh Circuit, we will consider such claims on direct review. See id.; LaGuerre v. Reno, 164 F.3d 1035, 1040 (7th Cir.1998) (dismissing a 2241 petition for lack of jurisdiction but noting that review of substantial constitutional claims had been available in a petition for direct review), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1153, 120 S.Ct. 1157, 145 L.Ed.2d 1069 (2000). See also Galindo-Del Valle v. Attorney Gen., 213 F.3d 594, 598 (11th Cir.2000) (stating that, in Richardson II, we have determined that, despite INA 242(a)(2)(C), we retain jurisdiction to evaluate constitutional challenges to the INA, but finding that the petitioner lacked standing to raise constitutional issues). 5 As discussed below, there is a split among the circuits with respect to the equal protection issue raised by Farquharson; in this light, we conclude that his constitutional question is substantial. We therefore resolve Farquharson's constitutional challenge in this direct appeal.
14 The current circuit split was foreshadowed by a history of differing interpretations of 212(c). Section 212(c) of the INA grants the Attorney General discretion to admit permanent resident aliens who temporarily travel abroad and seek readmission, even if they are otherwise subject to exclusion under the statute. 6 Although 212(c) by its literal terms offers relief only from exclusion, during the last four decades the INS has permitted aliens subject to deportation to apply for 212(c) relief. This expansion was justified under the theory that, if the INS allowed a resident alien to reenter the country despite his excludability and then initiated deportation proceedings, the alien should not be placed in a worse position than if he had been excluded in the first place. See Matter of GA-, 7 I. & N. Dec. 274 (BIA 1956); Matter of S-, 6 I. & N. Dec. 392 (BIA 1954, Att'y Gen.1955). 15 This extension, however, produced inequities in its application. While one resident alien who became deportable and then voluntarily left the country became eligible for waiver upon reentry, another alien who was deportable for the same reason but never left the country had no recourse. Finding this distinction not rationally related to any legitimate purpose of the statute, the Second Circuit struck it down as violating the Due Process Clause. Francis v. INS, 532 F.2d 268, 272 (2d Cir.1976). The BIA adopted the reasoning of Francis and extended 212(c) relief to deportable aliens regardless of whether they had left the United States after committing the act rendering them deportable. See Matter of Silva, 16 I. & N. Dec. 26, 30 (BIA 1976). Under the rationale of Francis and Silva, therefore, deportable aliens could receive 212(c) exclusion-type relief. However, because the basis for the extension of relief was to equalize the treatment of aliens who were deportable versus excludable on equivalent grounds, the BIA extended 212(c) relief only to aliens whose deportability was based on a ground for which a comparable ground for exclusion existed. See Matter of Wadud, 19 I. & N. Dec. 182, 184 (BIA 1984); Matter of Granados, 16 I. & N. Dec. 726, 728 (BIA 1979). 16 In 1990, the BIA departed from its precedent to hold that 212(c) relief was available to all aliens facing deportation (unless the ground was one specifically excluded in 212(c)). See Matter of Hernandez-Casillas, 20 I. & N. Dec. 262, 268 (BIA 1990). This unexpected liberality was soon curtailed, however, as the Attorney General reversed the BIA, 7 and the reversal was affirmed by the Fifth Circuit. See In re Hernandez-Casillas, 20 I. & N. Dec. 262, 280-93 (BIA 1991), aff'd mem., 983 F.2d 231 (5th Cir.1993). The issue in Hernandez-Casillas, as in this case, was whether 212(c) relief should be available to aliens deportable on the ground of entry without inspection. See id. at 280. Because there is no comparable ground for exclusion, the Attorney General concluded that 212(c) relief should not be available but that, pursuant to the BIA's former precedent, a 212(c) waiver is available only to aliens whose deportability was based on a ground for which a comparable ground for exclusion exists. See id. at 291-92. 17 The Seventh Circuit addressed this precise issue in Leal-Rodriguez v. INS, 990 F.2d 939 (7th Cir.1993), and agreed with Hernandez-Casillas that a deportable alien's ineligibility for a 212(c) waiver does not violate his right to equal protection. See id. at 952. However, the Second Circuit has held that a 212(c) waiver is available in a deportation based on entry without inspection, despite the lack of an analogous ground for exclusion. See Bedoya-Valencia v. INS, 6 F.3d 891, 897 (2d Cir.1993) (extending the Francis rule to hold that an alien deportable for illegal entry was not rendered ineligible for a 212(c) waiver by his illegal entry, where he was also deportable for a drug conviction that did not render him ineligible for the waiver). 18 Other circuits, including this Circuit, have addressed the issue in the context of a firearms violation (a deportation ground for which no analogous ground for exclusion exists), and have uniformly followed the Attorney General's lead, concluding that a 212(c) waiver is not available in deportations for firearms violations because there is no analogous ground for exclusion. See Gjonaj v. INS, 47 F.3d 824, 827 (6th Cir.1995); Rodriguez-Padron v. INS, 13 F.3d 1455, 1460-61 (11th Cir.1994); Chow v. INS, 12 F.3d 34, 38 (5th Cir.1993); Rodriguez v. INS, 9 F.3d 408, 412 (5th Cir.1993); Campos v. INS, 961 F.2d 309, 316-17 (1st Cir.1992); Cabasug v. INS, 847 F.2d 1321, 1327 (9th Cir.1988). See also Matter of Montenegro, 20 I. & N. Dec. 602, 605 (BIA 1992) (stating that under Hernandez-Casillas an alien who is deportable for a firearms conviction is ineligible for 212(c) relief because there is no analogous ground for exclusion).
19 As in Hernandez-Casillas, Farquharson is deportable on the statutory ground of entry without inspection, for which there is no analogous ground for exclusion. Following the Attorney General's rule in Hernandez-Casillas, the Immigration Judge decided, and the BIA affirmed, that Farquharson is ineligible for a 212(c) waiver because there is no ground for exclusion comparable to the entry without inspection ground for deportation. Notwithstanding Hernandez-Casillas, Farquharson argues that denying him the opportunity to pursue a 212(c) waiver violates his right to equal protection of the laws. He argues that the BIA unconstitutionally interpreted the statute to deny him relief from deportation that is available to similarly situated lawful permanent residents. Specifically, he argues that it is irrational to deny him a 212(c) waiver on illegal entry grounds, when his more serious ground for deportation-the drug conviction-would not disqualify him for 212(c) relief. Because Farquharson raises solely a question of law, our review is plenary. See Ardestani v. INS, 904 F.2d 1505, 1508 (11th Cir.1990), aff'd, 502 U.S. 129, 112 S.Ct. 515, 116 L.Ed.2d 496 (1991). A statutory distinction such as that challenged by Farquharson is evaluated under the minimal scrutiny test, and will survive an equal protection challenge if the classification drawn by the statute is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. City of Cleburne, Tex. v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432, 440, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 3254, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985).
20 Farquharson argues that the Equal Protection Clause mandates that he be eligible for 212(c) relief even though no analogous ground exists for exclusion. In Hernandez-Casillas, the Attorney General responded to a challenge by a petitioner who argued, like Farquharson, that he should be eligible for a 212(c) waiver although he was deportable for entry without inspection. See 20 I. & N. Dec. at 268. In that case, the petitioner argued that because he admitted to a more serious offense-smuggling aliens into the United States-which would not render him ineligible for the waiver, he should remain eligible for the waiver despite his illegal entry. See id. The Attorney General rejected this argument, reasoning that the equal protection concerns articulated in Francis and Silva were satisfied by making the 212(c) waiver available in deportation cases for all grounds that would qualify for the waiver in exclusion cases. See id. at 287-88. In Francis and Silva, where deportable aliens were denied waivers on grounds that would not have rendered them ineligible for a waiver of exclusion, the denial turned on the irrelevant circumstance that the petitioners had temporarily left the United States, while in the case of a deportation for entry without inspection, the denial was based on the relevant circumstance of the illegal nature of [the] reentry. See id. at 288. In this light, the Attorney General emphatically concluded that equal protection was satisfied by the extension of the 212(c) waiver granted by Francis and Silva-i.e., in situations where an analogous ground existed for exclusion-and that a further extension was not constitutionally required. See id. (stating that [u]nder no plausible understanding of equal protection principles must discretionary relief be made available in deportation cases where the ground for deportation could not be ... asserted at all in an exclusion case). Absent a constitutional justification, the Attorney General refused to depart further from the statutory framework which expressly provided different grounds for suspension of deportation versus a waiver of exclusion. See id. at 289. 21 We find this reasoning convincing. We have no difficulty in concluding that a denial of eligibility for 212(c) relief based on illegal entry is rationally related to a legitimate government interest. It is reasonable that the government would decline to offer a waiver to aliens deportable for entry without inspection, since illegal entry violations directly and fundamentally undermine the enforcement efforts of the INS. See Leal-Rodriguez, 990 F.2d at 946 (stating that the inspection process is critical to the integrity of the immigration system and noting that Congress viewed entry without inspection as one of 'the more important grounds for deportation' ) (citations omitted). Further, as the First Circuit observed, 212(c) has already been stretched beyond its language in response to equal protection concerns, and further judicial redrafting would serve only to pull the statute further from its moorings in the legislative will. Campos, 961 F.2d at 316. The Seventh Circuit cited Campos with approval, and refused to extend 212(c) relief to an alien deportable for entry without inspection, stating that no equal protection justification exists for further judicial extension of the statute. See Leal-Rodriguez, 990 F.2d at 952. We agree with Leal-Rodriguez, and we hold that the BIA's decision that Farquharson is ineligible for a waiver of deportation under 212(c) of the INA does not violate Farquharson's right to equal protection. 8