CRIMINAL DEFENSE OF IMMIGRANTS - PLEA BARGAINING - STIPULATED REMOVAL ORDERS
Federal authorities are increasingly deporting illegal immigrants through a fast-track program that bypasses court hearings, an effort by the federal government to save money, reduce backlogs and clear detention beds. (Anna Gorman, Concerns Arise Over Fast-Track Deportation Program, Los Angeles Times (Mar. 2, 2009), http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deport2-2009mar02,0,5186477.story.) "The number of detainees in California and across the nation who agreed to be deported without first seeing a judge jumped fivefold between 2004 and 2007, from 5,481 to nearly 31,554.
REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS - STIPULATED REMOVAL ORDERS IN CRIMINAL CASES
Federal authorities are increasingly deporting illegal immigrants through a fast-track program that bypasses court hearings, an effort by the federal government to save money, reduce backlogs and clear detention beds. (Anna Gorman, Concerns Arise Over Fast-Track Deportation Program, Los Angeles Times (Mar. 2, 2009), http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deport2-2009mar02,0,5186477.story.) "The number of detainees in California and across the nation who agreed to be deported without first seeing a judge jumped fivefold between 2004 and 2007, from 5,481 to nearly 31,554.
DETENTION - AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT
"Over 30,000 immigrants are detained every day. This is triple the number detained just ten years ago. Immigrants can be detained for months or years without any meaningful judicial review - this despite international human rights standards requiring judicial review. It costs about $95 per day to detain someone, while effective alternatives only cost $12 per day. These more affordable alternatives are often not considered and the use of such programs varies greatly region to region." Amnesty International, Mar. 25, 2009. http://www.amnestyusa.org/uploads/JailedWithoutJustice.pdf
IMMIGRATION OFFENSES - FALSE STATEMENT SENTENCE AFFIRMED WHERE NONCITIZEN HAD ILLEGALLY RE-ENTERED U.S.
United States v. Gutierrez-Sanchez, 559 F.3d 1088 (9th Cir. Mar. 23, 2009) (defendant's sentence for making a false statement to a federal official is affirmed where defendant admitted to facts that established a more serious offense - illegal re-entry following removal).
CITIZENSHIP - DERIVATIVE
Martinez-Madera v. Holder, 559 F.3d 937 (9th Cir. Mar. 16, 2009) (noncitizen whose mother, a U.S. Citizen, married in Mexico, after noncitizens birth, and who later moved to the U.S. with his family, is not a citizen of the U.S.)
OVERVIEW - CONTACT WITH IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES
Samayoa-Martinez v. Holder, 558 F.3d 897 (9th Cir. 2009) (DHS is not required to give warnings under 8 C.F.R. 287.3 until after an NTA is served on the noncitizen; statements taken before service of the NTA may be used against the noncitizen even in the absence of these warnings).
RELIEF - WAIVERS - 212(C) RELIEF - JURY TRIAL CONVICTIONS CANNOT BE WAIVED EVEN IF THE CONVICTION OCCURRED BEFORE THE REPEAL OF 212(C)
Ferguson v. U.S. Attorney General, ___ F.3d ___, 2009 WL 824434 (11th Cir. Mar. 31, 2009) ("Joining the majority of circuits, we decline to extend St. Cyr to aliens who were convicted after a trial because such aliens' decisions to go to trial do not satisfy St. Cyr ' s reliance requirement. Therefore, 212(c) relief is not available to such aliens. . . . And aside from her decision to go to trial, she points to no other "transactions" or "considerations already past" on which she relied. ").
RELIEF - TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS
Mejia Rodriguez v. U.S. DHS, ___ F.3d ___, 2009 WL 649731 (11th Cir. Mar. 16, 2009) (per curiam) (district court jurisdiction existed to review USCIS decision denying Temporary Protected Status, since its statutory eligibility determinations are not discretionary; Administrative Appeals Office dismissal of noncitizen's appeal of TPS denial was a "final" agency decision which the district court could review under the Administrative Procedure Act).
JUDICIAL REVIEW - DENIAL OF TPS IS REVIEWABLE IN DISTRICT COURT UNDER ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT
Mejia Rodriguez v. U.S. DHS, ___ F.3d ___, 2009 WL 649731 (11th Cir. Mar. 16, 2009) (per curiam) (district court jurisdiction existed to review USCIS decision denying Temporary Protected Status, since its statutory eligibility determinations are not discretionary; Administrative Appeals Office dismissal of noncitizen's appeal of TPS denial was a "final" agency decision which the district court could review under the Administrative Procedure Act).
JUDICIAL REVIEW - PETITION FOR REVIEW - EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES -SUFFICIENCY OF ARGUMENT TO WARRANT CONSIDERATION OF ISSUE
Singh v. U.S. Atty. Gen., ___ F.3d ___,2009 WL 604370 (11th Cir. Mar. 10, 2009) (per curiam) ("an appellant's brief must include an argument containing 'appellant's contentions and the reasons for them, with citations to the authorities and parts of the record on which the appellant relies.' Fed.R.App.P. 28(a)(9)(A). Thus, an appellant's simply stating that an issue exists, without further argument or discussion, constitutes abandonment of that issue and precludes our considering the issue on appeal. Rowe v. Schreiber, 139 F.3d 1381, 1382 n. 1 (11th Cir.1998).
