A man convicted of felony abduction in 2012 won vacation of a removal order based on the court’s finding that he was admitted to the United States in 2002, and the felony removal statute requires the crime be committed within ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Albert Diaz

Claims by an unaccompanied minor and his relative that the Office of Refugee Resettlement policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the plaintiffs’ procedural due process rights, proceed to discovery. Background Plaintiffs/petitioners in this putative class action are four minors ...

Tagged with: Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although the petitioner asserted a gang was threatening him if he returned to El Salvador, evidence supported the immigration judge’s conclusion that the gang’s recruitment efforts were aimed at providing “more opportunities to increase membership,” rather than at persecuting him ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Per Curiam Opinion

The Board of Immigration Appeals erred by finding that petitioner from Benin had not established past persecution, despite credible testimony of death threats due to his bisexuality and homosexual relationship. In remanding, the court noted the petitioner is entitled to ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Roger L. Gregory

The “Important Opinions” that appear each week on the front page of Virginia Lawyers Weekly are those chosen by our editors as the most likely to impact law practice or a given subject area of law. Below is a listing, ...

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Virginia Tech’s ministerial acts in reporting the academic status of a student on an F-1 visa who was arrested for weapons possession did not violate the student’s due process rights. Background Yunsong Zhao came to the United States on an ...

Tagged with: Immigration Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

After a trip to his native U.K., a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. was denied admission upon his return, based on a seven-year-old conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. His removal order was ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Immigration Judge G. Steven Agee

A Salvadoran immigrant, detained for the past 14 months while he challenges removal, deserves an individual bond hearing to determine whether flight risk or danger to society justifies his prolonged detention. Background Petitioner Jose Rodriguez Portillo first unlawfully entered the ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An immigrant was not rendered ineligible for cancellation of removal based solely on $100 in court costs that he paid after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Such costs, which are not discretionary and sometimes are imposed by the court clerk, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Immigration Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

A Salvadoran immigrant, detained for the past 14 months while he challenges removal, deserves an individual bond hearing to determine whether flight risk or danger to society justifies his prolonged detention. Background Petitioner Jose Rodriguez Portillo first unlawfully entered the ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Criminal Due Process Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District