Ninth Circuit: Deported Immigrant Cases Can Be Reopened
The decision reverses a previous ruling blocking reopenings.
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The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday held that immigration judges can reopen the cases of immigrants who have been removed from the U.S. or who voluntarily left, reversing a Board of Immigration Appeals decision that held that the “departure bar” in immigration law blocked those reopenings, reports Law360. The three-judge panel sided with Jaime Balerio Rubalcaba, a Mexican native who was removed from the U.S. in 1995. After returning to the U.S., Rubalcaba encouraged an immigration judge to reopen his case sua sponte — meaning without a request from the parties — so he could apply for adjustment of status. The judge refused, and BIA agreed, finding that a judge is blocked from taking sua sponte action because Rubalcaba had left the country. The Ninth Circuit said Wednesday that the departure bar doesn’t apply to a sua sponte reopening of a case, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Kisor v. Wilkie.
