We are pleased to announce that we have successfully reopened our client M.A.’s removal proceedings 12 years after he was ordered removed in absentia by the Immigration Judge in Los Angeles California. Not only that, Immigration Judge granted bond in the amount of $10,000.00 (client had firearm offense and failure to appears) and our client is now released. Him and his family are all together now and once the bond decision was announced, our client and his family members (there were 12) all cried from joy and our successful representation. Our client is from El Salvador who filed for applications in 2003 to get relief from removal. However, he was ordered deported from the United States because he failed to show up to court.
When we were hired, all of the statutory deadlines have passed to file for motion to reopen. However, after careful examination of the record and contacts with Client’s previous attorneys, we have determined that our client did not have proper notice. The Court’s notice of hearing was also defective as the proof of service was never completed and signed. We provided this proof by attaching a copy of the hearing notice to the motion. Immigration Judge initially denied our motion to reopen. The Board of Immigration Appeals agreed to reopen the case, because the incomplete proof of service basically violated due process of law and other rules and regulations. A motion to reopen to rescind an in absentia order of removal may be filed at any time if the applicant demonstrates improper notice of the hearing. 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(b)(5)(C)(ii); Andia v. Ashcroft, 359 F.3d 1181, 1184 (9th Cir. 2004) (per curiam) (interpreting pre-IIRIRA notice provision in 8 U.S.C. § 1252b(c)(3)(B) (repealed 1996)).
The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled in our favor and held that “written notice must be provided to an alien of the time, date, and location of the hearing. See sections 239(a)(2), 240(b)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1229 (a)(2), 1229a(b)(5)(A).”
We brought the dead alive by believing in our client and following through with the case by our detailed investigation of the facts of his story. These are key to our success in every case that we handle.