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Keywords

defendantappealfelonydeportationjudicial review

defendantappealpleacitizenshipdeportationjudicial reviewappellantgrand jury

Related Cases

Soto-Mateo; U.S. v.

Facts

Lenny Fernando Soto-Mateo, a Dominican Republic citizen, was admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident in 2000. After being convicted of aggravated identity theft and other charges, he was subjected to removal proceedings due to his aggravated felony conviction. Soto-Mateo waived his right to appeal the removal order and was subsequently removed to the Dominican Republic. He later reentered the U.S. illegally and was charged with illegal reentry, leading to his appeal regarding the validity of the removal order.

Defendant-appellant Lenny Fernando Soto-Mateo, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2000 at age 16. Some seven years later, a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Massachusetts charged the appellant with aggravated identity theft, see 18 U.S.C. 1028A, making false statements in a passport application, see id. 1542, and making a false claim of citizenship, see id. 911. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve a total of 25 months in prison.

Issue

Did Soto-Mateo exhaust his administrative remedies to challenge the removal order, and was his waiver of the right to appeal the removal order knowing and intelligent?

Rule

Under 8 U.S.C. 1326(d), a defendant must demonstrate that he exhausted any available administrative remedies, that the deportation proceedings deprived him of judicial review, and that the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair to successfully challenge a removal order.

A defendant facing a charge of illegal reentry after removal may, under some circumstances, challenge the validity of the underlying order of removal. See 8 U.S.C. 1326(d); United States v. Luna, 436 F.3d 312, 317 (1st Cir. 2006). To wage such a collateral attack, he must demonstrate that (1) [he] exhausted any administrative remedies that may have been available to seek relief against the order; (2) the deportation proceedings at which the order was issued improperly deprived [him] of the opportunity for judicial review; and (3) the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair.

Analysis

The court found that Soto-Mateo did not exhaust his administrative remedies because he voluntarily waived his right to appeal the removal order. The waiver was deemed knowing and intelligent, as he was informed of his rights in both English and Spanish and signed a stipulation acknowledging the consequences of his waiver. The court concluded that the district court's determination was supported by the record, which indicated that Soto-Mateo understood the implications of his actions.

The appellant stumbles at the first step. He concedes that he did not exhaust available administrative remedies but, rather, waived his right to appeal the IJ's removal order to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). A failure to take such an available administrative appeal is a failure to exhaust administrative remedies within the meaning of section 1326(d).

Conclusion

The court affirmed the district court's judgment, concluding that Soto-Mateo's waiver of his right to appeal was valid and that he could not collaterally attack the removal order.

Who won?

The United States prevailed in the case because the court upheld the validity of the removal order and Soto-Mateo's waiver of his right to appeal.

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Keywords

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