Immigration – Jurisdiction

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Claudia Melesio-Rodriguez v. Jefferson B. Sessions III

Case No.: 16-1781

Officials: BAUER, FLAUM, and MANION, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Immigration – Jurisdiction

An immigration judge ordered Petitioner Claudia Melesio‐Rodriguez removed to Mexico because she had committed multiple controlled‐substance offenses. Petitioner accepted the removal order as final and waived her right to appeal it. Nevertheless, she almost simultaneously appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals and filed a motion for reconsideration with the immigration judge. Petitioner never asked us to review the Board’s dismissal of her first appeal. This petition challenges the Board’s eventual dismissal of her reconsideration appeal.

Petitioner principally argues that she did not knowingly and intelligently waive her appeal rights in the initial hearing. But because Petitioner is a criminal alien and the waiver question is factual in nature, we lack jurisdiction to answer it under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(C). That leaves us with no choice but to dismiss her petition. For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is DISMISSED.

Dismissed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.