Wilkinson v. Garland | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Argued November 28, 2023 Decided March 19, 2024 | |
Full case name | Situ Kamu Wilkinson v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General |
Docket no. | 22-666 |
Citations | 601 U.S. ___ ( more ) |
Argument | Oral argument |
Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
Case history | |
Prior | Petition for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed and denied, No. 21-3166 (3rd Cir. 2022) |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Sotomayor, joined by Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, Kavanaugh, Jackson |
Concurrence | Jackson |
Dissent | Roberts |
Dissent | Alito, joined by Roberts, Thomas |
Laws applied | |
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, and Real ID Act |
Wilkinson v. Garland, 601 U.S. ___(2024), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that federal courts have the jurisdiction to review the determinations of immigration judges as a mixed question of law.
When a non-permanent resident of the United States has been designated for removal, the United States Attorney General can cancel their deportation if they have lived in the country for at least ten years, maintained good moral character, not committed any serious crimes, and their removal would impose an "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" on their spouse, parent, or child if those relations are either US citizens or permanent residents. [1]
As determined by the Board of Immigration Appeals in the 2001 case In re Monreal-Aguinaga, such hardship must be "substantially different from, or beyond, that which would normally be expected from the deportation of an alien with close family members here." [1]
In the United States, Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court can only review questions of law, as opposed to questions of fact, which are expected to be handled by the original trial court. [1] The 2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, reiterated that Congress' prior efforts to protect immigration court fact-finding from judicial review did not preclude "review of constitutional claims or questions of law raised upon a petition for review filed with an appropriate court of appeals." [2]
In the 2020 case Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr, the Supreme Court applied this provision to allow judicial review of whether immigration courts were appropriately applying undisputed facts to legal standards. The majority opinion cited the 2001 case Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr , which identified a presumption in favor of judicial review over any administrative action. [3]
However, in the 2022 case Patel v. Garland, the Supreme Court held that the choice of whether to assess a detainee's intent to commit one of the prohibited serious crimes in their cancellation hearing was a question of fact insulated from judicial review. [4]
Fleeing from police violence in his birth country of Trinidad and Tobago, Situ Kamu Wilkinson intentionally overstayed his travel visa in 2003. In 2013, he had a child with his girlfriend in Pennsylvania, both of whom are US citizens. Due to his busy schedule as a construction worker, Wilkinson agreed to have his girlfriend move to the neighboring state of New Jersey for his asthmatic son to receive additional childcare support from his girlfriend's mother. [1]
While repairing a house in 2019, Wilkinson was arrested by police officers after their search of the building identified crack cocaine. Upon reporting to the courthouse to contest the drug charges, Wilkinson was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for overstaying his visa. While those criminal drug charges were ultimately dropped, Wilkinson was forced to defend himself against deportation proceedings. Aside from claiming a right of asylum, withholding from removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, Wilkinson applied for cancellation of removal based on the emotional and financial hardship that his deportation would impose on his son. [1]
Despite accepting the facts presented by Wilkinson and his family in their testimonies, Immigration Judge Robert M. Lewandowski ruled that his deportation would not impose an "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" because his son could receive welfare and already lived apart from his father, Wilkinson could continue sending money from Trinidad and Tobago, and Wilkinson's girlfriend could begin working while her mother provides childcare. Upon review, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals upheld Lewandowski's verdict without issuing an opinion. [1]
Represented by immigration lawyer Rhonda F. Gelfman, Wilkinson appealed his decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. [5] Writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, Judge Stephanos Bibas cited Patel v. Garland to dismiss Wilkinson's appeal of the hardship determination as a discretionary judgement that the federal judiciary lacks jurisdiction over. [6]
Additionally, Bibas denied Wilkinson's claim that the Attorney General cannot order deportation because his life would be threatened in Trinidad and Tobago because of his membership in a particular social group. Citing the Third Circuit's precedent from the 2018 case S.E.R.L. v. Attorney Gen. U.S., this exception to deportation proceedings only applies to groups that are socially distinct within their country, Bibas reasoned that victims of police violence is not a satisfactory classification. [6]
In his petition for a writ of certiorari filed on January 17, 2023, Wilkinson highlighted a circuit split over whether the Supreme Court's decision in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr designates hardship determinations as a mixed question of fact and law subject to judicial review. [7] While the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals have interpreted hardship determinations as mixed questions that they have jurisdiction over, the Third, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals have interpreted hardship determinations as solely discretionary questions of fact. [1]
On May 12, 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland filed his brief as the respondent. The government argued that whereas Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr allowed judicial review over the common law standard of equitable tolling, the statutory standard used in hardship determinations still cannot be reviewed. The Supreme Court granted the petition for review on June 30, 2024. [8]
During oral arguments held on November 18, 2023, Jaime Santos of the law firm Goodwin Procter argued the case on behalf of Wilkinson, while Colleen Sinzdak argued the case on behalf of the Department of Justice. [5]
Chief Justice John Roberts argued that the federal judiciary is ill-equipped to assess the unusually of hardship that deportation would cause, as compared to immigration judges that focus on assessing such claims. Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed support for allowing federal courts to review hardship determinations while deferring to the immigration judges' fact-finding on the degree of unusuality. [1]
Justice Samuel Alito argued that the Supreme Court's decision in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr was inapplicable because hardship determinations are a far simpler legal standard than equitable tolling, making judicial review unnecessary. [1]
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson harshly criticized the government's reasoning that immigration justices and the Board of Immigration Appeals' hardship determinations cannot be appealed over an abuse of discretion, as long as the immigration courts had articulated a standard of review that complied with the statutory text. In her closing rebuttal, Santos argued that if the Supreme Court accepted the government's view, it would encourage regulatory agencies to include boilerplate text espousing previously upheld standards, regardless of whether the agency's determinations were actually applying the uncontested facts to those standards. [1]
Sotomayor's majority opinion distinguished the Supreme Court's decisions in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr and Patel v. Garland by explaining that even if mixed questions of fact and law will mostly involve a review of the facts to assess their application toward a judicial or statutory legal standard, they are still subject to judicial review by federal courts. The majority rejected the government's references to the 1928 case Williamsport Wire Rope Co. v. United States as irrelevant because that decision allowed a hardship determination for taxation purposes to be shielded from judicial review since they were conducted with minimal documentation. In other words, since immigration justices thoroughly explain their fact-finding and decision-making processes, the federal judiciary would be capable of solely reassessing the application of uncontested facts to legal standards. [1]
Jackson's concurrence agreed with Alito's dissent that allowing judicial review of the application of uncontested facts to legal standards undermines Congress' intent in prohibiting the federal judiciary from reviewing these hardship determinations, except for assessing questions of law. However, Jackson cited Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC in reasoning that the precedent established in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr carries more force. [1]
Alito's dissent argued that allowing judicial review of all mixed questions, regardless of whether they primarily involve factual analysis, will ultimately threaten the independence of juries in their ability to apply the facts presented during a trial to the appropriate legal standards as they see fit. Roberts' dissent agreed with Alito's dissent in explaining why Roberts switched from voting for judicial review in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr to now finding it too expansive in this case. [1]
The National Immigration Litigation Alliance praised the ruling. Recognizing that the Supreme Court did not specify the standard of review that the federal judiciary should apply in reviewing hardship determinations, the group recommended that immigration lawyers should begin advocating for de novo review, rather than judicial review that is deferential to the prior immigration courts' rulings. [9]
Merrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Republican-led U.S. Senate effectively blocked Garland's appointment.
On October 31, 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Samuel Alito for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito's nomination was confirmed by a 58–42 vote of the United States Senate on January 31, 2006.
Alexander Mordecai Bickel was an American legal scholar and expert on the United States Constitution. One of the most influential constitutional commentators of the twentieth century, his writings emphasize judicial restraint.
Thomas Michael Hardiman is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Nominated by President George W. Bush, he began active service on April 2, 2007. He maintains chambers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was previously a United States district judge.
Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided that criminal defense attorneys must advise noncitizen clients about the deportation risks of a guilty plea. The case extended the Supreme Court's prior decisions on criminal defendants' Sixth Amendment right to counsel to immigration consequences.
Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 387 (2012), was a United States Supreme Court case involving Arizona's SB 1070, a state law intended to increase the powers of local law enforcement that wished to enforce federal immigration laws. The issue is whether the law usurps the federal government's authority to regulate immigration laws and enforcement. The Court ruled that sections 3, 5(C), and 6 of S. B. 1070 were preempted by federal law but left other parts of the law intact, including a provision that allowed law enforcement to investigate a person's immigration status.
Schuette v. BAMN, 572 U.S. 291 (2014), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States concerning affirmative action and race- and sex-based discrimination in public university admissions. In a 6-2 decision, the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause does not prevent states from enacting bans on affirmative action in education.
Fisher v. University of Texas, 579 U.S. 365 (2016), also known as Fisher II, is a United States Supreme Court case which held that the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit correctly found that the University of Texas at Austin's undergraduate admissions policy survived strict scrutiny, in accordance with Fisher v. University of Texas (2013), which ruled that strict scrutiny should be applied to determine the constitutionality of the University's race-conscious admissions policy.
Reyes Mata v. Lynch, 576 U.S. 143 (2015), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction to review the orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals to reject motions to reopen.
Foster v. Chatman, 578 U.S. ___ (2016), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the state law doctrine of res judicata does not preclude a Batson challenge against peremptory challenges if new evidence has emerged. The Court held the state courts' Batson analysis was subject to federal jurisdiction because "[w]hen application of a state law bar 'depends on a federal constitutional ruling, the state-law prong of the court’s holding is not independent of federal law, and our jurisdiction is not precluded,'" under Ake v. Oklahoma.
Sessions v. Dimaya, 584 U.S. 148 (2018), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that 18 U.S.C. § 16(b), a statute defining certain "aggravated felonies" for immigration purposes, is unconstitutionally vague. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) classifies some categories of crimes as "aggravated felonies", and immigrants convicted of those crimes, including those legally present in the United States, are almost certain to be deported. Those categories include "crimes of violence", which are defined by the "elements clause" and the "residual clause". The Court struck down the "residual clause", which classified every felony that, "by its nature, involves a substantial risk" of "physical force against the person or property" as an aggravated felony.
Nielsen v. Preap, No. 16-1363, 586 U.S. ___ (2019), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the detention of legal immigrants with criminal histories. In a 5–4 vote, the Court ruled that the government has the power to detain immigrants at any time that have committed certain crimes that could lead to their deportation, even if those crimes occurred long in the past.
Monasky v. Taglieri, 589 U.S. ___ (2020), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a child's "habitual residence" under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction should be determined based on the totality of the circumstances specific to the case, and should not be based on categorial requirements.
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.
Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr, 589 U.S. ___ (2020), was a United States Supreme Court case. The question before the Court was, "Is a request for equitable tolling, as it applies to statutory motions to reopen, judicially reviewable as a question of law?"
United States v. Arthrex, Inc., 594 U.S. ___ (2021), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution as it related to patent judges on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In a complex decision, the Court ruled that these judges were considered "primary officers" under the Appointments Clause, normally subject to appointment through the US President and the US Senate, but to remedy the matter, the Court ruled that the constitutional issue is resolved by allowing the PTAB decisions to be subject to review by the appropriately-appointed Director of the Patent Office.
Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 593 U.S. 155 (2021), was an immigration decision by the United States Supreme Court. In a 6–3 decision authored by Neil Gorsuch, the Court ruled against the federal government, holding that deportation hearing notices need to be in a single document. Although a highly technical case, the decision received attention for being predicated on the single-letter word a.
Garland v. Gonzalez, 596 U.S. ___ (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to immigration detention.
Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez, 596 U.S. ___ (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to immigration detention.
Mellouli v. Lynch, 575 U.S. 798 (2015) is a Supreme Court of the United States ruling which reversed the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on the matter of whether Tunisian national Moones Mellouli should be deported after being convicted for driving under the influence.