9th Circuit says judges can reopen deported immigrant cases.
June 4, 2021
On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit held that immigration judges can reopen the cases of immigrants who have been removed from the United States or who voluntarily left. In its decision, the panel sided with a Mexican native who was removed in 1995 and asked an immigration judge to reopen his case sua sponte after he returned to the U.S. so he could apply for adjustment of status. The judge refused – and the BIA agreed – finding that a judge is blocked from taking sua sponte action because the migrant had left the country. Nonetheless, the panel said that the departure bar does not apply to a sua sponte reopening of a case, but only limits motions to reopen. The panel has now joined a Circuit split on the issue, supporting the Tenth Circuit, and opposing the Second, Third, and Fifth Circuits.