Opinion ID: 4391884
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Due Process & Equal Protection

Text: Burgos Noeller’s ﬁnal argument is that his due process and equal protection rights were violated when the Board of 20 No. 18-2723 Immigration Appeals held in abeyance, pending the outcome of his extradition, his immigration claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. Such stays, however, are not uncommon where the same person is the subject of both immigration and extradition proceedings. See Barapind v. Reno, 225 F.3d 1100, 1107 (9th Cir. 2000) (“As a matter of course, the BIA has held deportation proceedings in abeyance while extradition proceedings are pending.”). Such stays may often make sense because immigration and extradition proceedings are separate and independent proceedings governed by diﬀerent legal standards and procedures. See id. at 1104−05 (“Extradition from the United States is governed by 18 U.S.C. § 3184 (2000), and provides a separate and independent procedure from exclusion or removal proceedings initiated under the INA for the removal of an alien from the United States.”); Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law § 478, reporters’ note 6 (1987) (“If proceedings for deportation had been initiated prior to receipt of a request for extradition, deportation often will be stayed or withdrawn pending completion of the extradition proceeding.”). The United States government has followed established legal practices in processing Burgos Noeller’s extradition case. It received a valid request from Mexico for extradition, and it acted on that request as it is obliged to do under its extradition treaty with Mexico. The subsequent proceedings have complied with the treaty, applicable statutes, and the U.S. Constitution. Burgos Noeller’s attempt to use this habeas corpus appeal to attack collaterally his losses in his immigration case must fail. Even if the Board committed constitutional error in No. 18-2723 21 refusing to rule on his pending immigration claims, and we see no reason to believe that it did, that would present a separate issue that we have no jurisdiction to consider on this appeal. Separate statutes govern judicial review of Board decisions, including a decision to hold removal proceedings in abeyance. To obtain review of that decision, Burgos Noeller would need to pursue the proper channels for review of Board actions. 3 An eﬀort similar to this case was made and rejected in Barapind, where the Ninth Circuit reviewed a habeas corpus petition seeking relief requiring the Board to vacate its decision to hold immigration proceedings in abeyance pending resolution of an extradition request by India, and enjoining the pending extradition proceeding. 225 F.3d at 1000, 1104, 1109. The court noted that Barapind did “little to explain the source of the district court’s authority to enjoin a pending extradition proceeding, . . . a separate and independent proceeding from his asylum proceedings,” and that “[s]uch relief, if available, must be sought through the extradition proceedings or on subsequent habeas review of an adverse decision in the extradition case.” Id. at 1109. Likewise, Burgos Noeller cannot seek relief from alleged violations in his immigration proceedings in the separate and independent extradition process. Even if the Board does not adjudicate Burgos Noeller’s claims for asylum, withholding, and relief under the Convention Against Torture before his extradition challenge is concluded, he also may present these humanitarian issues to the 3 In his district court reply brief, Burgos Noeller asserted that he “intends to challenge the abeyance order through a claim under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Mandamus and Venue Act.” We express no views on the possibility. 22 No. 18-2723 Secretary of State. “It is the function of the Secretary of State to determine whether extradition should be denied on humanitarian grounds.” Ahmad v. Wigen, 910 F.2d 1063, 1067 (2d Cir. 1990); see also Munaf v. Geren, 553 U.S. 674, 702 (2008) (“The Executive Branch may, of course, decline to surrender a detainee for many reasons, including humanitarian ones.”). The district court’s denial of Burgos Noeller’s habeas corpus petition is AFFIRMED.