Court to Hear 212(c) Case Challenging Matter of Blake

Judulang v.Gonzales, 06-070986, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 22480 (9th Cir. Sept. 17, 2007), cert. granted sub nom. Judulang v. Holder, (Apr. 18, 2011) (No. 10-694).

The Supreme Court will hear a case challenging the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision Matter of Blake, 23 I&N Dec. 722 (BIA 2005). In Matter of Blake the BIA ruled that a person found removable based on an aggravated felony conviction (sexual abuse of a minor) was not eligible for a 212(c) waiver because there was no statutory counterpart in the grounds of inadmissibility. Nearly all the circuits have considered challenges to Matter of Blake, and all but the Second Circuit upheld the BIA’s decision. The Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari to address:

“Whether a lawful permanent resident who was convicted by guilty plea of an offense that renders him deportable and excludable under differently phrased statutory subsections, but who did not depart and reenter the United States between his conviction and the commencement of removal proceedings, is categorically foreclosed from seeking discretionary relief from removal under former Section 212(c) of the INA.”

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