Chehazeh v. Attorney General, 666 F.3d 118 (3d Cir. Jan. 11, 2012) (district courts have jurisdiction under the APA, 28 U.S.C. 1331, to review a BIA grant [but not denial] and a sua sponte decision to reopen a removal proceeding; "On general principles, then, the District Court had jurisdiction over Chehazeh's claims under 1331 and could have reviewed the BIA's decision to reopen Chehazeh's removal proceedings pursuant to the APA if (1) the BIA's action was not 'committed to agency discretion by law,' 5 U.S.C. 701(a)(2); (2) no statute precluded review, 5 U.S.C.

Prudencio v. Holder, 669 F.3d 472 (4th Cir. Jan. 30, 2012) (the Attorney Generals method to determine whether a conviction is a crime of moral turpitude, set forth in Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008), is not an authorized exercise of his discretion under Chevron).

Turkson v. Holder, 667 F.3d 523 (4th Cir. Jan. 26, 2012) (granting petition for review, and vacating removal order, where BIA erroneously reviewed the IJ's factual findings under the de novo standard of review instead of under the clearly erroneous standard required by its governing regulations, in considering a claim for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture); referring to 8 C.F.R. 1003.1(d)(i) (The Board will not engage in de novo review of findings of fact determined by an immigration judge.

United States v. Ramos-Cruz, 667 F.3d 487 (4th Cir. Jan. 19, 2012) (undocumented noncitizen who applied for, and was denied, TPS prior to being found in possession of a firearm could be convicted as a "alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States" in possession of a firearm; leaving open the question of whether an undocumented noncitizen with TPS pending could be convicted under the same statute).

Siddiqui v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir. Jan. 12, 2012) (reversing AAOs decision denying legalization for failure of proof of continuous residence in the United States, because the decision lacked individualized analysis and did not identify particular deficiencies in the substantial evidence submitted by Siddiqui; noncitizens counsel found 536 AAO decisions each using an identical paragraph of "analysis" of the evidence: An agency abuses its discretion when it fails to to issue opinions with rational explanations and adequate analysis of the record. Gebreeyesus v.

Siddiqui v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir. Jan. 12, 2012) (reversing AAOs decision denying legalization because it erred in applying IIRIRAs 1996 definition of conviction, INA 101(a)((48)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)(A), to Siddiquis 1992 offense because Congress did not clearly express its intent to apply the definition retroactively to individuals such as Siddiqui, whose legalization applications would have been adjudicated prior to the enactment of IIRIRA if the government had not unlawfully refused in late 1980s to accept applications from applicants who had briefly left the country).

Obi v. Holder, 558 F.3d 609 (7th Cir. Mar. 3, 2009) (federal conviction of failure to appear in court, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 3146, is mentioned in dictum as a crime involving moral turpitude); but see Hussein v. Ashcroft, 2002 WL 31027604 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2002) (federal conviction of failure to appear in court, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 3146, was not found to be a crime of moral turpitude, but court denied naturalization based on a conclusion that other convictions showed a lack of good moral character).

Tyson v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Jan. 27, 2012) (We agree with Tyson that the stipulated facts trial in this case is substantially equal to a guilty plea for the purpose of 212(c) relief. We hold that applying the repeal of 212(c) relief would produce an impermissible retroactive effect on Tyson, who was convicted pursuant to a stipulated facts agreement based on a reasonable expectation that it would not negatively affect her immigration status. INS v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289, 319 (2001); Landgraf v. USI Film Prods., 511 U.S. 244, 269-70 (1994).

Calla-Collado v. Attorney General of the U.S., 663 F.3d 680 (3d Cir. Dec. 1, 2011) (counsel's admission to removability did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel where concession was made as tactical decision in moving to change venue, and the noncitizen was not prejudiced thereby).

Li v. Holder, 666 F.3d 147 (4th Cir. Dec. 2, 2011) (BIA order finding noncitizen deportable, but remanding to IJ to consider voluntary departure, is a "final order" for purposes of a petition of review; while court had jurisdiction to consider appeal of BIA decision, court chose not to exercise jurisdiction for prudential reasons).