Removal proceedings

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Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an individual's removability under United States immigration law. Removal proceedings are typically conducted in Immigration Court (the Executive Office for Immigration Review) by an immigration judge (IJ). [1]

Contents

History

Prior to the passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ("IIRIRA"), deportation proceedings were used to determine whether a person could be deported from the United States. When IIRIRA took effect in 1997, deportation proceedings were replaced by removal proceedings, though any cases begun before IIRIRA's effective date continue to be processed as deportation proceeding.

Procedure

Persons in removal proceedings are called "respondents." Cases are decided by immigration judges, who are appointed by the Attorney General and are part of the Department of Justice. Removal proceedings are prosecuted by attorneys from the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), or more specifically, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. [1]

Notice to Appear

Removal proceedings begin when an immigration attorney files a NTA with the immigration court. The respondent (typically an alien) is served with an administrative summons called a "Notice to Appear." The Notice to Appear is a dated document served by a U.S. immigration official (typically U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection) to a person suspected of entering the United States without inspection, remaining in the United States beyond the terms permitted by a visa, committing certain crimes which result in removability even if in lawful status, or otherwise being present in the United States unlawfully. [1]

Among other things, a Notice to Appear contains a numbered list of factual allegations against the respondent. For example, a typical Notice to Appear might state:

  1. You are not a citizen or resident of the United States
  2. You are a citizen and national of [respondent's alleged home country]
  3. You were admitted to the United States on [month], [day] [year] as a B visitor for a period not to exceed 180 days.
  4. You remained in the United States beyond your term of admission.

These factual allegations may also list any crimes allegedly committed by the respondent in the United States, whether the respondent previously filed any applications with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and their disposition, and if the respondent presently holds or previously held any lawful status. The Notice to Appear also contains a charge of removability, which is often a reference to which section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that DHS is attempting to use to remove the respondent. The Notice to Appear may or may not contain a court date for the respondent to appear and answer the charges contained therein. If no court date is listed, the respondent may be notified of the court date by mail or in person at a future date.

Failure to appear for a removal hearing will result in an in absentia order of removal being entered by the Immigration Judge absent extenuating circumstances for the respondent's failure to appear, such as a serious illness.

Master hearing

On the date of the removal hearing, also known as a master hearing or Master Calendar Hearing (sometimes abbreviated as MCH), before the immigration judge, the respondent may be represented by an attorney of his or her choosing. However, an attorney will not be provided by the court if the respondent does not secure his or her own counsel. [1]

The respondent will be expected to answer the charges against him or her by pleading to the factual allegations and charge of removability contained in the Notice to Appear. Thereafter, if the respondent is eligible to apply for any relief from removal (such as asylum or cancellation of removal, among others), the respondent may request such relief and file any applications required for the relief. If the respondent is not eligible for any form of relief or if the respondent refuses to request relief from removal, the immigration judge may order the respondent removed from the United States. [1]

The immigration judge will set a merits hearing date when respondents file an application for relief or express to the immigration judge seeking a specific form of relief not precluded by law. The merits hearing may be a matter of days or perhaps even more than a year later, depending on the type of relief requested and the particular court's docket. However, if the only form of relief from removal available or requested is voluntary departure, the immigration judge will most often grant or deny the respondent's request for voluntary departure on the same date of the request.

Merits hearing

At the merits hearing, also known as the "individual hearing," the respondent will be able to present his or her documentary evidence (which is typically required to be submitted to the court prior to the date of the merits hearing) for the court's consideration. The respondent may also testify in support of his or her application for relief, and may call witnesses. The Department of Homeland Security also questions the respondent and witnesses, and DHS may also call its own witnesses in some cases. At the conclusion of the merits hearing, the immigration judge issues a decision. This decision might be oral and given on the same day as the merits hearing, or written and served by mail on all parties at a later date. [1]

If a respondent's application for relief from removal is denied by an immigration judge, the respondent may be eligible to appeal that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") within 30 days of the date of the decision. If appealed, the respondent's removal proceedings continue at the appellate level at the BIA. If no appeal is filed and the immigration judge has ordered a respondent to be removed, the order removing the respondent becomes final 30 days after it has been entered by the immigration judge. A respondent with a final order of removal from an immigration judge is susceptible to being arrested and deported from the United States at any time. [1]

Types of aliens who appear in removal proceedings

There are three categories of aliens who appear in removal proceedings: [2]

  1. Arriving Aliens (these are people who were detained while entering the United States)
  2. Aliens present without admission or parole
  3. Admitted Aliens

Features of the hearing

Burden of proof

In criminal proceedings, the legal burden of proof always falls on the prosecutor, i.e., the state. However, in removal proceedings, as is the case with other administrative proceedings, the legal burden of proof may fall on either side depending on the specifics of the charges. Specifically: [2] [3]

  1. Arriving Aliens: As a general rule, the Arriving Alien bears the legal burden of proof of clear admissibility to the United States. However, in the case of Arriving Aliens who have previously been granted Lawful Permanent Resident status, there is a presumption in favor of granting them entry, with the exceptions being those aliens who satisfy one or more of the grounds of inadmissibility covered in INA Section 212. There is some legal ambiguity regarding who has the legal burden of proof here, but some legal scholars have held that the burden of proof falls on the prosecution in the case of LPRs. [2] [3]
  2. Aliens Present Without Admission or Parole: This refers to people who entered unlawfully. In this case, once the prosecution establishes that the respondent is an alien, the burden of proof is on the respondent to demonstrate that he/she is in lawful status in the United States. [2] [3]
  3. Admitted Aliens: This refers to aliens who were admitted lawfully. Here, the legal burden of proof of removability falls on the prosecution. [2] [3]

Regardless of the category, if the alien is claiming any relief from removal (such as asylum or cancellation of removal) the legal burden of proof for demonstrating eligibility for that relief falls on the alien. [3]

Availability of a defending lawyer

For criminal proceedings in the United States (and in most other countries), the state has a responsibility to provide a public defender for the accused. However, removal proceedings are not criminal proceedings, and the state does not provide a public defender or compensate the respondent for the costs of an attorney. Respondents are allowed to defend themselves without the help of an attorney.

However, most immigration courts have set up programs where pro bono (free, volunteer) attorneys are available on the day of the master calendar hearing.

The pro bono attorney helps the respondent in the following ways:

If the respondent's situation is complicated, the pro bono attorney may request a continuance on the respondent's behalf, so that the respondent can secure an attorney.

The pro bono attorney does not typically continue to represent the respondent for the merits hearing. Rather, the respondent is expected to find (and pay for) an attorney by that time.

How appeals work

Immigration decisions may be appealed by either side with the Board of Immigration Appeals. However, the BIA does not generally accept new evidence regarding the original case, but instead, simply aims to determine whether the previous court made an incorrect judgment based on the law or the facts available to it at that time. It is therefore critical that all the arguments and facts be presented in the original removal proceeding. BIA appeals are generally handled through paper, with physical hearings very rare. [4]

Beyond the BIA, decisions may be appealed in the United States court of appeals for the jurisdiction where the removal proceeding was held. There is more flexibility regarding the sort of evidence that may be presented in these appeals but the court generally focuses on whether the original BIA decision was made correctly based on the information available, rather than re-adjudicating the facts involved.

Removal without proceedings

The following are ways people may be removed without removal proceedings: [5]

Removal proceedings also should not be confused with Operation Streamline, that involves the use of federal criminal charges being pressed against aliens for unlawful entry. People who are found guilty through Operation Streamline courts generally have to spend a few months in prison, after which they are handed over to immigration enforcement. Generally, those found guilty under Operation Streamline are removed through expedited removal, but some of them may go through removal proceedings.

Alternatives to removal

Some alternatives to removal that may be granted in some circumstances include:

Related Research Articles

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 US immigration act "cracking down on illegal immigration"

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Division C of Pub.L. 104–208 (text)(PDF), 110 Stat. 3009-546, enacted September 30, 1996, made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which the bill's proponents argued was mainly to counter the rapidly-growing undocumented immigrant population, and also to protect the legal immigrants and citizens of the United States. "These IIRIRA changes became effective on April 1, 1997."

Board of Immigration Appeals

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is an administrative appellate body within the Executive Office for Immigration Review of the United States Department of Justice responsible for reviewing decisions of the U.S. immigration courts and certain actions of U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services, U.S Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The BIA was established in 1940 after the Immigration and Naturalization Service was transferred from the United States Department of Labor to the Department of Justice.

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Predrag Stevic, 467 U.S. 407 (1984), was a Supreme Court of the United States decision that held if an alien seeks to avoid deportation proceedings by claiming that he will be persecuted if he is returned to his native land, he must show a "clear probability" that he will be persecuted there.

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421 (1987), was a United States Supreme Court case that decided that the standard for withholding of removal, which was set in INS v. Stevic, was too high a standard for applicants for asylum to satisfy. In its place, consistent with the standard set by the United Nations, the Court in held that an applicant for asylum in the United States needs to demonstrate only a "well-founded fear" of persecution, which can be met even if the applicant does not show that he will more likely than not be persecuted if he is returned to his home country.

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Aguirre-Aguirre, 526 U.S. 415 (1999), examined a doctrinal question last presented to the U.S. Supreme Court in Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca. In Aguirre-Aguirre, the Court determined that federal courts had to defer to the Board of Immigration Appeals's interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Abudu, 485 U.S. 94 (1988), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court shifted the balance toward adjudications made by the INS and away from those made by the federal courts of appeals when aliens who had been ordered deported seek to present new evidence in order to avoid deportation. The Court ruled that courts must review the Board of Immigration Appeals's decision to deny motions to reopen immigration proceedings—the name of the procedural device used to present new evidence to immigration officials—for abuse of discretion.

Cancellation of removal is a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States that allows some aliens who are in removal proceedings, who have lived in the United States for a long period of time and meet certain other conditions, to apply to remain in the United States and have the removal proceedings terminated. Cancellation of removal was crafted by the U.S. Congress to replace "suspension of deportation," a similar form of relief available prior to April 1, 1997.

The term aggravated felony was created by the United States Congress as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to define a category of serious criminal offenses. It basically covers documented convictions from anywhere on Earth for which imposition of one year or longer of imprisonment was possible under the controlling law of a country or locality. The INA says that for asylum in the United States, any alien "convicted of an aggravated felony shall be considered to have been convicted of a particularly serious crime." Every legal immigrant or non-citizen U.S. national that has been convicted of any aggravated felony is ineligible for citizenship of the United States, and other than a refugee under INA section 207, 8 U.S.C. § 1157, every alien who has been convicted of any aggravated felony is ineligible to receive a visa or be admitted to the United States, if his or her "term of imprisonment was completed within the previous 15 years."

Executive Office for Immigration Review

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a sub-agency of the United States Department of Justice whose chief function is to conduct removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicate appeals arising from the proceedings. These administrative proceedings determine the removability and admissibility of individuals in the United States. As of February 20, 2020, there were sixty-nine immigration courts throughout the United States.

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289 (2001), is a United States Supreme Court case involving habeas corpus and INA § 212(c) relief for deportable aliens.

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) is a non-profit legal services organization in Washington state. NWIRP's mission is to promote justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.

Exceptional circumstances or exceptional situations are the conditions required to grant additional powers to a government agency, particularly a government leader or a judge, so as to alleviate, or mitigate, unforeseen or unconventional hardship. The term is commonly used in Australia, where it has been applied in various contexts, most recognizably in relation to special consideration policies for students and drought relief payments for farmers known as Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments or ECRP. It is similarly used in the law of the United States, particularly in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Judulang v. Holder, 565 U.S. 42 (2011), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving deportation law and procedure. The case involved a rule adopted by the Board of Immigration Appeals for determining the eligibility of certain long-term resident aliens, when they are facing deportation because of a prior criminal conviction, to apply to the Attorney General for relief. In a unanimous opinion delivered by Justice Elena Kagan, the Court invalidated the BIA's "comparable-grounds rule" as arbitrary and capricious, holding that it had no rational relation to the merits of an alien's claim for remaining in the United States, nor to the policy and purposes of the immigration laws.

Expedited removal is the term for a process related to immigration enforcement in the United States during which a non-citizen is denied entry to and/or physically removed from the United States, without going through the normal removal proceedings. Whereas the legal authority for expedited removal allows for its use against most unauthorized entrants who have been in the United States for less than two years, its rollout so far has been restricted to people seeking admission and those who have been in the United States for 14 days or less, and excludes first-time violators from Mexico and Canada.

Reinstatement of removal in the United States refers to an immigration enforcement procedure in which a previously deported foreign national can again be removed for subsequent illegal reentry with no required judicial review except in very limited exceptional circumstances. In such a situation, the original "order of removal" gets resurrected and is reviewed by a U.S. court of appeals under the well-known gross miscarriage of justice standard. Other legal issues may also be raised in the petition for review, including a United States nationality determination, or a request for asylum, withholding of removal or deferral of removal. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a foreign national is an alien and not an American. "Only 'aliens' are subject to removal under the INA."

<i>Boika v. Holder</i>

Boika v. Holder, 727 F.3d 735, is a precedent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit addressing an alien's motion to reopen after the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) had denied her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and for relief under the convention against torture. Judge David F. Hamilton wrote the opinion for the three-judge panel which granted the petition for review and remanded the case to the BIA for further proceedings.

Voluntary departure in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States is a legal remedy available to certain aliens who have been placed in removal proceedings by the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) or the now Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

An immigration judge, formerly known as a special inquiry officer, is an employee of the United States Department of Justice who confers U.S. citizenship or nationality upon lawful permanent residents who are statutorily entitled to such benefits. An immigration judge also decides cases of aliens in various types of removal proceedings. During the proceedings, an immigration judge may grant any type of immigration relief or benefit to an alien, including to his or her family members.

Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, 591 U.S. ___ (2020), was a United States Supreme Court case involving whether the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which limits habeas corpus judicial review of the decisions of immigration officers, violates the Suspension Clause of Article One of the U.S. Constitution. In the 7–2 opinion, the Court ruled that the law does not violate the Suspension Clause.

Pereida v. Wilkinson, 592 U.S. ___ (2021), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) an alien seeking to cancel a lawful removal order bears the burden of showing that he has not been convicted of a disqualifying offense. An alien has not carried that burden when the record shows he has been convicted under a statute limiting multiple offenses, some of which are disqualifying, and the record is ambiguous as to which crime formed the basis of his conviction.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "27. Immigration Court Proceedings". Immigration Equality. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Weil, Jack H. "Burdens of Proof in Removal Proceedings" (PDF). Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "8 CFR 1240.8 - Burdens of proof in removal proceedings". Legal Information Institute . Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  4. "28. Board of Immigration Appeals". Immigration Equality. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  5. "Removal Without Recourse: The Growth of Summary Deportations from the United States". Immigration Policy Center. April 28, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2015.