JUDICIAL REVIEW - PETITION FOR REVIEW - EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES REQUIRED BY PRESENTATION OF ISSUE TO BIA IN BRIEF
Lin v. Holder, 565 F.3d 971 (6th Cir. May 14, 2009) ("these claims have not been administratively exhausted because Lin did not present them in his brief for his BIA appeal. This Court does not have jurisdiction to consider claims that have not been administratively exhausted."), citing 8 U.S.C. 1252(d)(1); Ramani v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 554, 559-60 (6th Cir. 2004) (holding "only claims properly presented to the BIA and considered on their merits can be reviewed by this court in an immigration appeal").
REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS - IMPARTIAL JUDGE
Casthilho de Oliveira v. Holder, 564 F.3d 892 (7th Cir. May 8, 2009) (noncitizen was denied meaningful opportunity to be heard by neutral IJ; IJ behavior toward asylum applicant and expert witness showed bias).
AGGRAVATED FELONY - SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR
Gaiskov v. Holder, 567 F.3d 832 (7th Cir.
RELIEF - CANCELLATION - VAWA - TIMELINESS
Arellano-Hernandez v. United States, 564 F.3d 906 (8th Cir. May 5, 2009) (VAWA special rule cancellation is an application for relief separate from non-LPR cancellation; VAWA application was untimely when filed after deadline for relief filed by IJ, even though non-LPR cancellation application had been timely filed).
IMMIGRATION OFFENSES - ILLEGAL REENTRY - SENTENCE - FAILURE TO CONSIDER COST OF INCARCERATION - FACT OF DEPORTATION
United States v. Molina, 563 F.3d 676 (8th Cir. May 4, 2009) (neither cost of incarceration, nor the fact that the defendant will be deported upon release from federal prison are proper factors to consider in imposing sentence for illegal re-entry).
RELIEF - NON-LPR CANCELLATION - HARDSHIP
Vargas v. Holder, 567 F.3d 387 (8th Cir. May 20, 2009) (BIA did not abuse discretion in denying motion to reopen based on fact that respondents daughter had been involved in a serious car accident where daughter was neither a USC or LPR child, and therefore was not a person for whom hardship could be shown).
AGGRAVATED FELONY - SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR
United States v. Medina-Villa, 570 F.3d 213 (9th Cir. June 23, 2009) (California conviction of lewd act with a minor under 14, in violation of Penal Code 288(a), constituted "sexual abuse of a minor," qualifying as a "crime of violence" that warranted a sixteen-level increase under U.S.S.G. 2L1.2 in the sentence for illegal reentry after deportation), following United States v. Baron-Medina, 187 F.3d 1144, 1147 (9th Cir. 1999).
AGGRAVATED FELONY - SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR - ELEMENTS
United States v. Medina-Villa, 570 F.3d 213 (9th Cir. June 23, 2009) (sexual abuse of a minor has the same meaning in the immigration and sentencing contexts - except as it concerns statutory rape in the immigration context; as generically defined, the term requires three elements - sexual conduct, against a minor, that constitutes abuse [physical or psychological harm]), distinguishing Estrada- Espinosa,546 F.3d 1147 (9th Cir. 2008), which applied 18 U.S.C. 2243 to define "sexual abuse of a minor" in the context of a statutory rape conviction.
AGGRAVATED FELONY - STATUTORY RAPE - ELEMENTS
United States v. Medina-Villa, 570 F.3d 213 (9th Cir. June 23, 2009) ("sexual abuse of a minor" is defined by reference to 18 U.S.C. 2243 in the context of a conviction for statutory rape, but not in other contexts of "sexual abuse of a minor.")
JUDICIAL REVIEW - BIA - BIA FACTFINDING VIOLATES EOIR REGULATION
Brezilien v. Holder, 565 F.3d 1163 (9th Cir. May 12, 2009) (BIA violated its own regulation when it engaged in de novo factfinding to deny claim for immigration relief, improperly reversing IJs factual finding without applying the clearly erroneous standard of review).
