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Immigration — motions to reopen — judicial review

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 14, 2012//

Immigration — motions to reopen — judicial review

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 14, 2012//

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Immigration — motions to reopen — judicial review

A decision by the Board of Immigration appeals not to reopen a case sua sponte is a discretionary decision that is unreviewable.

“[T]he Board has concluded that, in the absence of ‘extraordinary situations,’ it will not exercise its sua sponte authority to reopen a case. In re J-J-, 21 I. & N. Dec. 976, 984 (BIA 1997); see also In re G-D-, 22 I. & N. Dec. 1132, 1134 (BIA 1999) (characterizing its sua sponte authority as ‘an extraordinary remedy reserved for truly exceptional situations’). But the Board has not established any sort of comprehensive standard or list of factors in its case law that it considers when determining whether an extraordinary situation exists in a particular case. See Mejia-Hernandez, 633 F.3d at 824; In re G-D-, 22 I. & N. Dec. at 1134-35. Thus, there is no meaningful standard on which we might base our review. Moreover, even if there were such a standard, the regulation’s permissive language makes clear that the Board is never obligated to exercise its sua sponte authority; therefore, any review of the Board’s refusal to exercise such authority would be inappropriate. See Tamenut, 521 F.3d at 1004-05.”

Dismissed.

11-3052 Anaya-Aguilar v. Holder

Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals, Manion, J.

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