Opinion ID: 758325
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Franklin Henderson

Text: 2 Petitioner Franklin Henderson has been a legal permanent resident (LPR) of the United States for thirty years. Most members of his immediate family reside in this country, and some of them are citizens. In May 1987, Henderson pled guilty to criminal possession of cocaine in the second degree under New York law. He was sentenced to a prison term of five-years-to-life, and was incarcerated until April 1992. His conviction rendered him deportable under the then-effective provisions of § 241(a)(2)(B)(i) of the INA (codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(2)(B)(i) (1994)). In February 1994, the INS initiated deportation proceedings against Henderson. 3 At a deportation hearing on May 3, 1994, Henderson conceded that he was deportable under INA § 241, but indicated his intent to apply for a discretionary waiver of deportation pursuant to INA § 212(c) (codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1182(c) (1994)). Since 1952, long-time LPRs like Henderson have been eligible to seek discretionary waivers of deportation or exclusion based on factors such as length of prior residence in the United States, family and personal ties to this country, positive histories of employment and community service, evidence of good character, and (for those persons deportable by reason of having committed a crime) proof of genuine rehabilitation. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(c) (1994) (added by the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952); see also Lovell v. INS, 52 F.3d 458, 461 (2d Cir.1995) (listing factors to be considered in an application for a § 212(c) waiver). 4 The first hearing on Henderson's § 212(c) application was held on October 12, 1995. At the hearing, the INS stipulated that, based on the many positive factors in his case, Henderson would warrant § 212(c) relief as a matter of discretion, but raised a question as to whether he was eligible for such relief under then-existing law. At that time, aliens who had served five years or more in prison for an aggravated felony conviction were statutorily ineligible for § 212(c) relief, and the law in this Circuit was unsettled as to whether criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree constituted an aggravated felony. The hearing was adjourned so that the parties could brief the issue. 5 On March 22, 1996, the Second Circuit held that criminal possession was not an aggravated felony. See Aguirre v. INS, 79 F.3d 315, 317 (2d Cir.1996). Accordingly, when Henderson's case came before an Immigration Judge (IJ) on May 2, 1996, the IJ held that Henderson was eligible for § 212(c) relief and granted him a waiver of deportation. 6 While Henderson's case was pending, Congress enacted a bill that made substantial changes to the immigration laws. This bill, the AEDPA, took effect on April 24, 1996. Section 440(d) of the AEDPA greatly expanded the range of crimes that rendered aliens statutorily ineligible for § 212(c) relief. Under the new law, a person convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree was rendered ineligible for a § 212(c) waiver. 7 The INS took the position that AEDPA § 440(d) should apply retroactively to cases pending on the date of its enactment. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) rejected this position, ruling that § 440(d) could not be applied retroactively to persons who had applied for § 212(c) relief before the AEDPA's effective date. See In re Soriano, Int. Dec. No. 3289, 1996 WL 426888 (BIA June 27, 1996) (Matter of Soriano I ). The Attorney General, exercising her statutory authority over the whole of the INS, see 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(1) (Supp.1998), reversed the BIA and issued an opinion concluding that § 440(d) should be applied retroactively to all pending cases regardless of when the waiver application was made. See Matter of Soriano, Int. Dec. No. 3289, 1996 WL 426888 (Op.Att'y Gen.Feb. 21, 1997) (beginning at  16) (Soriano II ). 8 On the basis of the Attorney General's ruling in Soriano II, the BIA summarily reversed the waiver of deportation that had been granted to Henderson. Henderson, contending that the Attorney General's interpretation of § 440(d) in Soriano II was incorrect, filed a petition for review of the BIA's decision in this Court on April 1, 1997. See Henderson v. INS, Docket No. 97-4050. That petition is before us today. 3