Case Explained: Opinion in case# 25-2268

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-06

The seventh-circuit denied the government’s motions to dismiss petitions for review filed by noncitizens seeking withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court held that reinstatement orders constitute “final orders of removal” subject to judicial review under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, rejecting the government’s argument that such orders fall outside the definition of a final order of removal as interpreted in *Riley v. Bondi*. Additionally, the court ruled that the thirty-day filing deadline for petitions for review under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1) is not jurisdictional and is subject to equitable tolling. The court determined that equitable tolling was appropriate because the petitioners diligently pursued their rights while relying on binding circuit precedent that required them to wait until withholding-only proceedings concluded before filing, a rule abrogated by the Supreme Court’s decision in *Riley*. Consequently, the petitions were deemed timely despite being filed after the statutory deadline had passed. The court further rejected the government’s argument that the petitions were unripe, noting that *Riley* explicitly anticipated and provided for the review of withholding-only claims alongside final removal orders even while agency proceedings remain pending. As a practical consequence, the motions to dismiss are denied, the motion to transfer venue is denied, and the petitions will be held in abeyance until the agency issues final decisions in the petitioners’ withholding-only proceedings.

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