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GONZALEZ CUEVAS v. GARLAND (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.2021-05-10No. No. 20-9567

Summary

Holding. The court granted the petition for review and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the corrected stop-time rule interpretation.

Jose Gonzalez-Cuevas sought review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision denying his motion to reopen removal proceedings and consider cancellation of removal. The Board had found him ineligible because his continuous presence in the United States fell short of the ten-year requirement under immigration law, relying on the "stop-time rule," which the Board interpreted as being triggered by multiple documents sent to him about the removal proceedings.

The court had previously abated the appeal pending resolution of a related case before the Supreme Court. After the Supreme Court's decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, which aligned with this circuit's prior holding in Banuelos-Galviz v. Barr, the legal landscape shifted. That precedent established that the stop-time rule activates upon receipt of a single complete notice to appear, not a combination of separate documents. The government conceded that remand was appropriate given this controlling precedent.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Proper triggering of the stop-time rule for continuous presence calculations
  • Whether single versus multiple documents constitute the relevant stopping event
  • Eligibility for cancellation of removal based on continuous presence requirement

Procedural posture

This is an appeal from a Board of Immigration Appeals order that was initially abated pending Supreme Court resolution of a related legal question.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Jose Gonzalez-Cuevas appeals an order from the Board of Immigration Appeals upholding the denial of his motion to reopen removal proceedings and consider an application for cancellation of removal. The Board determined that Gonzalez-Cuevas was not eligible for cancellation of removal because he had not been present in the United States for a “continuous period” of at least ten years. 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1)(A). Under the stop-time rule, the Board reasoned, Gonzalez-Cuevass continuous-presence period ended when the government sent him a notice to appear informing him of the removal proceedings, followed by another document a few weeks later stating the date and time of a hearing.

In its response brief, the government acknowledged that the Boards decision conflicted with our decision in Banuelos-Galviz v. Barr, which held that “the stop-time rule is triggered by one complete notice to appear rather than a combination of documents.” 953 F.3d 1176, 1178 (10th Cir. 2020). As such, the government “agree[d] that remand is appropriate.” Aplee. Br. 9.

We abated the appeal, however, pending the Supreme Courts decision in a case involving the same stop-time issue we faced in Banuelos-Galviz. The Supreme Court has now decided that case, Niz-Chavez v. Garland, No. 19-863, ––– U.S. ––––, 141 S.Ct. 1474, ––– L.Ed.2d ––––, 2021 WL 1676619 (Apr. 29, 2021), and the government recognizes that it “is in line with the ․ holding in Banuelos-Galviz.” Respt Status Report 2, May 5, 2021.

Accordingly, we lift the abatement, grant Gonzalez-Cuevass petition for review, and remand for further proceedings. See Artur v. Barr, 819 F. Appx 618, 621 (10th Cir. 2020) (unpublished) (“Because [the Boards precedent] is no longer good law in this circuit, we grant the petition for review and remand for the [Board] to consider the motion to reopen in light of our decision in Banuelos-Galviz.”).

Nancy L. Moritz, Circuit Judge