Miguel Mendias-Mendoza v. Jefferson Sessions, III


Case: 16-60381 Document: 00514270489 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/12/2017 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals No. 16-60381 Fifth Circuit FILED December 12, 2017 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk MIGUEL MENDIAS-MENDOZA, Also Known as Javier Arturo Segovia-Mendias, Petitioner, versus JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS, III, U.S. Attorney General. Respondent. Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Before SMITH, BARKSDALE, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges. JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge: Miguel Mendias-Mendoza was found deportable by an immigration judge (“IJ”) in 1991. In 2014―twenty-three years after the IJ’s final deportation order―Mendias-Mendoza submitted to the IJ a motion to reopen his deporta- tion. The IJ denied that motion, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed, and this petition for review followed. We deny the petition. Case: 16-60381 Document: 00514270489 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/12/2017 No. 16-60381 I. Mendias-Mendoza, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without inspection on October 4, 1991. On the same day, the Immigra- tion and Naturalization Service (“INS”) served him with an order to show cause, charging him with deportability under § 241(a)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(1)(B) (1991). The reason was that Mendias-Mendoza had entered the United States without inspection. Mendias-Mendoza obtained an attorney, who filed a notice of appearance. On October 16, 1991, the IJ held a deportation hearing. In connection with the hearing, Mendias-Mendoza entered into a written stipulation with the INS stating that he “underst[oo]d[] the nature and purpose of the deportation hearing and waive[d] any further explanation thereof.” The stipulation also provided that he “admit[ted] all of the allegations of fact and conced[ed] the charge of deportability.” The section of the stipulation allowing Mendias- Mendoza time to seek relief from deportation was crossed out. The stipulation further noted that he “agree[d] to accept the decision of the [IJ]” and “waive[d] appeal.” It was signed by Mendias-Mendoza’s attorney, an INS representative, and the IJ. Based on the stipulation, the IJ determined that Mendias-Mendoza was deportable as charged and ordered him deported to Mexico. In November 2014, Mendias-Mendoza, through new counsel, moved to reopen in the immigration court. He asserted that he had lied to immigration officials in 1991 and had obtained lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) status in October 1989. The only evidence in support of his motion was his affidavit, in which he claimed that he gave the Border Patrol agents a fake name in 1991, falsely informing them that he was undocumented. He also averred that he returned to the United States on the same day he was deported by using his LPR card and that he renewed his LPR card on two other occasions. Although 2 Case: 16-60381 Document: 00514270489 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/12/2017 No. 16-60381 not reflected in his affidavit, Mendias-Mendoza asserted in his motion that his wife had been granted LPR status in 2009 based on his application. He also maintained that immigration authorities committed several procedural errors during his ...

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