Immigration-Jurisdiction

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Morris Ndlovu v. Merrick B. Garland

Case No.: 23-2208

Officials: St. Eve, Kirsch, and Lee, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Immigration-Jurisdiction

An immigration judge (IJ) denied Morris Ndlovu’s application for cancellation of removal. The IJ found that, while Ndlovu was statutorily eligible for cancellation, he did not merit such relief as a matter of discretion. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upheld the denial on that basis. The Seventh Circuit dismissed Morris Ndlovu’s appeal because it lacked jurisdiction to review discretionary decisions made by the IJ and the BIA regarding the denial of cancellation of removal. The court can only review constitutional claims or colorable questions of law related to these decisions.

In Ndlovu’s case, the IJ found that although he met the statutory requirements for cancellation of removal, he did not merit this relief as a matter of discretion due to his criminal history. Ndlovu argued that the IJ and BIA erred by considering his older convictions, suggesting a legal error. However, the court determined that this claim did not raise a colorable question of law because the statute governing the discretionary decision (8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(4)(A)) does not restrict consideration to a specific time period, unlike the statute for statutory eligibility (8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1)).

Dismissed.

Decided 04/25/24

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