Justia U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The tenant moved into an apartment in 2004. The building later came under management by defendants. In 2008 tenant filed suit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. 1962, alleging that defendants conspired to harbor illegal aliens and to encourage or induce illegal aliens to reside in the U.S. in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii). He claimed that the apartment complex fell into disrepair and that criminal activity went unreported, causing injury to his leasehold property. The district court dismissed. The Third Circuit affirmed. The "harboring" claim was properly dismissed; the complaint did not sufficiently allege that the conduct tended to substantially facilitate an alien's remaining in the U.S. illegally and to prevent government authorities from detecting the unlawful presence. With respect to the "inducing" claim, the court stated that it could not imagine that Congress contemplated that landlords and hotel and motel operators would be responsible for making complex legal determinations about who is permitted to live in this country, much less that they would be criminalized for an error in so doing.View "Delrio-Mocci v. Connolly Props., Inc." on Justia Law

Petitioner has lived in the U.S. since entering on a visitor’s visa in 1980, when he was 20 years old. His wife became a U.S. citizen by naturalization in 1997 and they have a child, born in New Jersey in 1990. In 2006, petitioner filed an application to adjust his status to permanent residence based on his marriage. He disclosed a 2004 arrest for propositioning an undercover officer for prostitution, which resulted in a plea of guilty to disorderly conduct. DHS concluded, based on the arrest report, that he had falsely claimed to be from Puerto Rico rather than Costa Rica at the time of arrest, triggering a bar to admissibility under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii). In 2007, DHS initiated removal proceedings. An immigration judge found him inadmissible and the BIA affirmed. The Third Circuit reversed and remanded. The statute applies to false citizenship claims made in conjunction with applications for private employment or for public services and benefits.View "Castro v. Attorney Gen. of the United States" on Justia Law

Petitioner, a native of Liberia, was admitted as a visitor in 1980. In, 1983, he became a lawful permanent resident. In 1988, he pled guilty to criminal sexual conduct. In 1995, Minnesota enacted a predatory offender registration statute. Petitioner initially complied, but in 1998, pled guilty to failing to register. In 2009, DHS began removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(i), for having been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years after his date of admission and alleging that his 1998 conviction, coupled with his 1988 conviction, made him removable under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), for having been convicted of two crimes involving moral turpitude not arising out of a single scheme. Several months later, petitioner asserted for the first time that he was admitted in 1980, not 1983, but did not support his assertion with any evidence. The IJ ordered him removed. The BIA dismissed. The Third Circuit vacated, reversing the treatment of petitioner's conviction under the predatory offender registration statute. The court remanded with instructions to allow him to supplement the record to show that he was legally admitted in 1980 and to enter an order that he is not removable. View "Totimeh v. Attorney Gen. of the U.S." on Justia Law

Petitioner left Syria because of fears relating to indebtedness and was admitted to the U.S. as a nonimmigrant in 2000. He became acquainted with men involved in the September 11 attacks and later voluntarily provided the FBI with information. In October 2001 the INS issued a Notice to Appear charging petitioner as removable. He sought asylum and withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture and was transferred to FBI custody on a material witness warrant. The IJ granted the application for asylum (8 U.S.C. 1158), withholding of removal (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)(A)), and withholding of removal pursuant to the CAT, finding that he belonged to the social group of "hopeless debtors," persecuted in Syria. Three years later, ICE indicated that his application might have been fraudulent and that petitioner might pose a threat to national security. The BIA reopened "sua sponte" and remanded. The district court dismissed, for lack of jurisdiction, a "Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Stay of Removal Proceedings." The Third Circuit reversed concluding that, under these unusual circumstances, the district court has jurisdiction to review the BIA decision to reopen pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331 and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 701.View "Chehazeh v. Attorney Gen. of the U.S." on Justia Law

Petitioners, citizens of Mexico, entered the U.S. unlawfully in 1993 and 1998, respectively. Since 2000, husband has been seeking employment-based permanent residency. An individual who would not ordinarily qualify for lawful permanent residency because he entered without inspection, may apply as the beneficiary of a labor certification application or a visa petition filed on or before April 30, 2001, 8 U.S.C. 1255(i). According to the court, petitioners' former attorney provided incompetent, and at times ethically questionable, representation throughout the visa petition process, missing filing deadlines and sending associates to hearings without adequate information about the case, so that an IJ granted voluntary departure and the BIA affirmed denial of a motion to reopen. The Third Circuit denied review. The Due Process Clause does not guarantee an alien effective assistance of counsel in preparing, filing, and appealing a labor certification application and a visa petition before the start of removal proceedings. By the time removal proceedings began, petitioners had accrued more than one year of unlawful presence and would have been ordered removed regardless of counsel's actions.View "Contreras v. Attorney Gen. of U.S." on Justia Law

From 1996 until 2003, petitioner, a Columbian, laundered money for Colombian drug traffickers. He was arrested and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. Conviction and sentencing were deferred. He worked with the FBI from 2003 to 2007. In 2007, petitioner was arrested in Colombia for failure to pay a fine years earlier. He paid the fine, but remained in jail for 22 days. He claims that his arrest was to facilitate his murder by the paramilitary group targeted by his FBI work. When he returned to the U.S. he was arrested because FBI agents believed he was involved in money laundering outside of his cooperation. Petitioner pled guilty based on the 1999 transfers. DHS charged him as removable. An IJ and the BIA denied his request for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. The Third Circuit remanded. The BIA must consider that an applicant can establish governmental acquiescence even if the government opposes the paramilitary organization that is engaged in torturous acts. The BIA must also consider that country conditions can, by themselves, constitute grounds for determining that an applicant would more likely than not be subjected to torture upon return to the country of removal. View "Pieschacon-Villegas v. Attorney Gen. of the U.S." on Justia Law

Petitioner, a citizen of Peru, entered the U.S., undocumented, in 2005. In 2007, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated; he was unlicensed. In removal proceedings, petitioner conceded removablity and, after being transferred from New Jersey to Louisiana, obtained a change of venue, retained new counsel and filed a motion to withdraw pleadings and a motion for an evidentiary hearing. The IJ found that petitioner's admission waived issues raised in his motions and ordered removal. The BIA dismissed, finding that: petitioner failed to establish that his concession to removability should be suppressed; his rights were not violated when he was transferred; and that evidence of his alienage was not suppressible under the Fourth Amendment. The Third Circuit denied review, first rejecting an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. An alien does not have the right to be detained where he believes his ability to obtain representation and present evidence would be most effective. Even if the police violated a directive from the state attorney general by contacting ICE, petitioner's rights were not prejudiced. View "Calla-Collado v. Attorney Gen. of the United States" on Justia Law

In 2000, petitioner, a citizen of Honduras, was admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident. Four years later, in a Pennsylvania state court, he was found guilty of sexual assault, a second degree felony, and indecent assault, a second degree misdemeanor, and was sentenced to imprisonment of 46 months to eight years. He was found not guilty of rape. DHS charged him as removable under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), because he had been convicted of a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. 16(b), which is an aggravated felony as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(F). The BIA ordered removal. The Third Circuit denied an appeal. rejecting an argument that the crime was not a "crime of violence" because the mens rea necessary for conviction is recklessness. Sexual assault, as defined by the statute, raises a substantial risk that the perpetrator will intentionally use force in furtherance of the offense, and, therefore, constitutes a crime of violence under 16(b).View "Aguilar v. Attorney Gen.of the U.S." on Justia Law

Claudia illegally entered the U.S. in 1998 or 1999; her younger sister, Silvia illegally entered in 2005. About a year later, DHS charged each with removability under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). Both sisters conceded removability but applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection, claiming that if they are returned to Guatemala, they will be persecuted by a violent gang the government allegedly cannot control. Silvia had been in witness protection for assisting the government's efforts against the gang and a cousin who was involved with the gang. An immigration judge rejected the petitions and the BIA affirmed. The Third Circuit denied Claudia's appeal, but remanded Silvia's case for a determination of whether the harm she might face rises to the level of persecution and whether she had been safely resettled in Mexico. Silvia shares a common, immutable characteristic with other civilian witnesses who have the shared experience of assisting law enforcement against violent gangs that threaten communities in Central America.View "Moreno Garcia v. Attorney Gen'l of U.S." on Justia Law

Petitioner sought to enter the U.S. with a stolen French passport in 2005, but was intercepted. Numerous proceedings ensued arising from Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings against him. Petitioner sought asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture, claiming to fear returning to Guinea because he believes he will be persecuted on account of his political opinion attributable to his membership in the Rally of Guinean People Party. The Board of Immigration Appeals rejected his arguments. The Third Circuit vacated for reconsideration, noting a change in power in Guinea. The court did not address the merits. View "Nbaye v. Attorney Gen. of the U.S." on Justia Law