Court Opinion

ID: 9497042
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:42:12.506453+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:58.443689
License: Public Domain

BEEZER, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
I join the judgment of the court.
I write separately with respect to the dissolution of the stay orders entered during the course of this appeal.
I
Mariseal-Sandoval filed his petition for review on July 1, 2002. At that time he moved for a stay of removal pending our review of his petition. The act of filing Mariscal-Sandoval’s stay motion resulted in the automatic issuance of a temporary stay order so that the court could evaluate the merits of petitioner’s motion for stay.
This temporary stay procedure is established in our General Order 6.4(c). On September 9, 2002, after the government filed a notice of non-opposition to the stay motion, a staff attorney employed by this court prepared, certified and filed an order granting Mariscal-Sandoval’s motion for a stay of removal pendente lite. Because our opinion today removes any “likelihood of success on the merits,” the petitioner’s allegations of fact supporting a stay now are determined to be without merit. There is no legitimate reason not to revoke Mariscal-Sandoval’s stay order immediate*857ly so that the removal or deportation process can proceed as required by statute.
I discuss the application of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to the process of granting stays in the Ninth Circuit and Congress’s intent regarding stays of deportation and removal.
II
Prior to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, an undocumented alien typically was granted an automatic stay of deportation upon filing a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision.1 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(3) (1994). Under this earlier statutory scheme, automatic stays were justified in most cases because a deported alien could not procedurally continue with his petition for relief. The court lost jurisdiction to review an alien’s petition following his departure from the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(c) (1994) (“An order of deportation ... shall not be reviewed by any court if the alien has departed from the United States after issuance of the order.”).
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 changed this rule. An alien’s removal2 no longer deprives the court of jurisdiction to consider a pending petition. As a result, Congress eliminated automatic stays in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The statute says: “[Sjervice of the petition for review shall not stay the deportation of an alien pending the court’s decision on the petition, unless the court orders otherwise.” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(3)(B).
Despite Congress’s statutory removal of automatic stays, the court’s opinion in De Leon v. INS, 115 F.3d 643 (9th Cir.1997), establishes a new found basis in law for automatic temporary stays. The opinion says: “The filing of a motion for stay or a request for a stay contained in a petition for review will stay a petitioner’s deportation temporarily until the court rules on the stay.” This rule is codified in General Order 6.4(c). (“Upon the filing of a motion or request for stay of removal or deportation, the order of removal or deportation is temporarily stayed until further order of the court.”) When the government files a notice of non-opposition while temporary stay is in effect, or when the court resolves a disputed motion in the alien’s favor, the temporary stay is extended and “shall remain in effect during the pendency of the petition for review or until further order of the court.” General Order 6.4(c)(5).
Ill
Ninth Circuit opinions and rules of court never have established the standard that governs the granting of temporary stays under De Leon and General Order 6.4(c). The temporary stay appears to be automatic. In Abbassi v. INS, 143 F.3d 513 (9th Cir.1998), the court discusses the standard under which it evaluates an alien’s motion for a stay of removal after the temporary stay is granted. The opinion holds that under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996’s transitional rules, a request for a *858stay is to be evaluated “under the same standards employed by district courts in evaluating motions for preliminary injunc-tive relief.” Id. at 514. Specifically, an alien must show either “a probability of success on the merits and the possibility of irreparable injury, or that serious legal questions are raised and the balance of hardships tips sharply in petitioner’s favor.” Id. (internal citations omitted).
In Andreiu v. Ashcroft, 253 F.3d 477 (9th Cir.2001) (en banc), the INS challenges application of the Abbassi rule to the permanent rules under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Id. at 480. The INS maintains that an alien’s request for a stay is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252(f)(2), which states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court shall enjoin the removal of any alien pursuant to a final order under this section unless the alien shows by clear and convincing evidence that the entry of execution of such order is prohibited as a matter of law.” Andreiu holds that § 1252(f)(2)’s use of the term “enjoin” does not refer to stays of removal and, therefore, neither § 1252(f)(2), nor its “clear and convincing evidence” standard, limits this court’s power to grant stays of removal.3 Id. at 480-82; accord Arevalo v. Ashcroft, 344 F.3d 1 (1st Cir.2003); Mohammed v. Reno, 309 F.3d 95 (2d Cir.2002); Bejjani v. INS, 271 F.3d 670 (6th Cir.2001).
A concurring opinion in Andreiu questions the court’s statutory construction and the resulting application of the injunction standard; the “clear and convincing evidence” standard is urged. Id. at 485-90 (Beezer, J., concurring); accord Weng v. Attorney General, 287 F.3d 1335 (11th Cir.2002) (per curiam) (holding that the “clear and convincing” standard of § 1252(f)(2) applies to motions for stays of removal pending review). See also Kenyeres v. Ashcroft, 538 U.S. 1301, 123 S.Ct. 1386, 155 L.Ed.2d 301 (2003) (Kennedy J., in Chambers) (discussing the conflict between the courts of appeals and need for resolution).
Although Andreiu does not address temporary stays specifically, the entire panel in that case agrees that a petitioner must meet some substantive standard to be entitled to a stay pending resolution of the claims of error identified in his petition. Compare id. at 483, with id. at 485. Andreiu thus undermines the reasoning in De Leon. The importance of this substantive showing requirement should not hinge on the duration of the stay in question. Automatic, standardless stays, even the temporary stays provided for under De Leon and by General Order 6.4(c), are contrary to case law and Congress’s intent in passing the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
IV
The court avoids Congress’s intent as well by refusing to apply the “clear and convincing evidence” standard for stays expressly provided for in § 1252(f)(2). As noted above, Andreiu holds that the injunction standard is the appropriate standard under which to evaluate requests for *859stays pending review of an alien’s petition. 253 F.3d at 483. The separate opinion discusses the flaws in the court’s interpretation of Congress’s intent. Id. at 485-90.
If the traditional injunction standard is correct, then it must be applied as the law of the circuit. Under the injunction standard, an alien is entitled to a stay only so long as the petitioner can demonstrate that “either a probability of success on the merits and the possibility of irreparable injury, or that serious legal questions are raised and the balance of hardships tips sharply in petitioners’s favor.” Abbassi, 143 F.3d at 514 (internal quotations omitted).
Once we carefully consider the administrative agency record and the parties’ briefs on appeal and after oral argument or submission without argument and when an opinion is filed which denies an alien’s petition for review, there necessarily is no longer “a probability of success on the merits” or any “serious legal questions.” From the time of filing an opinion and thereafter, the court has no sound basis for further delaying the alien’s removal or deportation. Nothing requires the court to wait until the mandate issues. General Order 6.4(c) expressly authorizes a merits panel to terminate a stay order at any time.
The proposition that a court has the authority to alter the effect of an injunction in light of changes in the law or the circumstances is well established. See, e.g., Pasadena City Bd. of Educ. v. Spangler, 427 U.S. 424, 437, 96 S.Ct. 2697, 49 L.Ed.2d 599 (1976); System v. Wright, 364 U.S. 642, 646-47, 81 S.Ct. 368, 5 L.Ed.2d 349 (1961); United States v. Swift & Co., 286 U.S. 106, 114-15, 52 S.Ct. 460, 76 L.Ed. 999 (1932); Chrysler Corp. v. United States, 316 U.S. 556, 562, 62 S.Ct. 1146, 86 L.Ed. 1668 (1942); Pennsylvania v. Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Co., 59 U.S. (18 How.) 421, 431-32, 15 L.Ed. 435 (1855). “There is no dispute but that a sound judicial discretion may call for the modification of the terms of an injunction decree if the circumstances, whether of law or fact, obtaining at the time of its issuance have changed, or new ones have since arisen.” System Federation, 364 U.S. at 647, 81 S.Ct. 368; see also Donk v. Miller, 365 F.3d 159, 164-65 (2d Cir.2004) (vacating injunction because the court’s determination on the merits removed the factual and legal predicates for the injunction).
V
General Order 6.4(c) states that stays of deportation or removal remain in effect “until further order of the court.” (Emphasis added.) But in this case, as in many others, a Ninth Circuit staff attorney, not an Article III judge, granted petitioner’s motion for a stay.
Pursuant to Ninth Circuit rules, judges need not resolve all motions. Rule 27-7, entitled Delegation of Authority to Act on Motions, provides as follows: “The Court may delegate to the Clerk or designated deputy clerks, staff attorneys, appellate commissioner or circuit mediators authority to decide motions filed with the court.” Those motions delegated to the Clerk are set forth in our General Orders. General Orders, App. A. The General Orders also grant the Clerk discretion to refer certain motions to “a single judge, an appellate commissioner, a circuit court mediator, an appropriate motions attorney for presentation to a motions panel, or a merits panel.” General Order 6.3; App. A.
However, nowhere in our General Orders, Circuit Rules, or anywhere else do we grant authority to the Clerk, let alone a staff attorney, to issue orders granting stays of removal. Even if our court rules could be interpreted to grant such authority, they would be in direct conflict with the language of the statute, which states that *860service of the petition does not stay removal “unless the court orders otherwise.” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(3)(B) (emphasis added).
In this case, as appears to be the rule rather than the exception, the government filed a notice of non-opposition to Maris-cal-Sandoval’s request for a stay of removal. The government’s practice, whether the result of administrative burdens or otherwise, most often results in stays being granted routinely by staff attorneys without meaningful scrutiny by any member of this court. In addition to being unauthorized, the practice of permitting staff attorneys to grant stays of removal deprives the judges of this court of an important judicial obligation established by Congress for granting due process to an ever increasing number of undocumented aliens who seek to reside in the United States as permanent residents.
VI
The intent of Congress is best served if the effect of stays pending resolution of an appeal is maintained for the minimum necessary period of time. The circumstances, if any, under which this court should continue a stay in effect after decision are limited indeed. When the petitioner has failed to prevail on his asylum or removal claims, the time to depart has arrived and the court should vacate the stay.

. We did not automatically issue stays in cases involving an alien being deported because of an aggravated felony conviction. 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(3) (1994).

. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 eliminated the previous legal distinction between deportation and removal, merging both into a broader category entitled "removal.” United States v. Lopez-Gonzalez, 183 F.3d 933, 934-35 (9th Cir.1999).

. The tortured reading of § 1252(f)(2) has resulted in some semantical oddities. Andreiu holds that the definition of "enjoin” includes "to restrain by injunction” but goes on to conclude that a stay of proceedings is "very different” from an injunction and therefore not encompassed by section 1252(f)(2). 253 F.3d at 482-83 ("Put simply, injunctions run against parties; stays run against courts and judgments.”). By contrast, Faruqi v. DHS, 360 F.3d 985, 988 (9th Cir.2004), says that enjoin as used in § 1252(f)(2) "refers only to permanent injunctive relief and not to temporary relief such as an injunction pending appeal.” (Internal quotations omitted.)