Court Opinion

ID: 9601554
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 01:46:49.509454+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:37:07.582126
License: Public Domain

THOMAS, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
Rather than holding that Sandoval-Lua has sufficiently borne his burden of proof in this case, I would join the First Circuit in holding that the government bears the burden of proving the existence and nature of prior convictions, even when those prior convictions are at issue only as they relate to an alien’s application for discretionary relief. See Berhe v. Gonzales, 464 F.3d 74, 85-86 (1st Cir.2006). There is, however, no practical difference between that holding and the one we issue today since either legal standard allows an alien to establish eligibility when his record of conviction is inconclusive. I therefore concur in the majority’s opinion.