EOIR Issues Notice about Settlement of Class Action for Suspension of Deportation Applicants

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Removal Procedures and Defenses

EOIR ISSUES NOTICE ABOUT SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION FOR SUSPENSION OF DEPORTATION APPLICANTS
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 2, April 8, 2003

The Executive Office for Immigration Review has published a notice in the Federal Register, pursuant to the settlement in Barahona-Gomez v. Ashcroft, that starts an 18-month period during which class members may file motions to reopen their deportation cases, if they need to do so. Therefore, the deadline for filing such motions is now Sept. 20, 2004. The EOIR is the federal agency that includes the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Barahona-Gomez is a class action lawsuit that challenged the actions of EOIR officials who in Feb. 1997 issued directives that halted immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals from granting suspension of deportation in new cases, based on their interpretation of the 4,000-person cap on suspension/adjustment grants imposed by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). (For a detailed explanation of the Barahona settlement, see "Barahona-Gomez: Court Approves Settlement in Class Action for Suspension Applicants," Immigrants' Rights Update, Dec. 23, 2002, p. 8.) Under the settlement, class members in the Ninth Circuit who ultimately were or could be denied suspension under the "stop-time rule," but who could have had their suspension applications granted before the rule's Apr. 1, 1997, effective date, will be able to have their cases decided without regard to the stop-time rule.

The notice includes a general description of class members eligible for relief under the settlement. It states that individuals may be eligible for relief if they:

1. applied for suspension of deportation;

2. had their hearings take place within the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit;

3. had their cases scheduled for an individual hearing on the merits before an immigration judge between Feb. 13, 1997, and Apr. 1, 1997; or had their cases pending at the BIA between Feb. 13, 1997, and Apr. 1, 1997, and the Notice of Appeal had been filed with the BIA on or before Oct. 1, 1996;

4. had the "stop-time rule" (of IIRIRA § 309(c)(5)) as the basis for the IJ or the BIA denying or not adjudicating the application for suspension of deportation; and

5. for cases before an IJ, the IJ must have (a) reserved a decision or continued the hearing until after Apr. 1, 1997; (b) issued a decision denying or not adjudicating the application for suspension of deportation; (c) not yet issued a decision; or (d) granted suspension of deportation and the Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed the decision based upon IIRIRA sec. 309(c)(5).

The notice cautions that not all individuals who meet the above general description will qualify for relief. With the notice, the EOIR published an advisory statement that explains the factual situations which determine if an individual will qualify for relief under the settlement. More information regarding the settlement as well as the full settlement agreement is also available on the NILC Web site, www.nilc.org. The full agreement is also available on the EOIR Web site: www.usdoj.gov/eoir.

68 Fed. Reg. 13,727-29 (Mar. 20, 2003).