Background
Juan Carlos Sanchez-Perez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitioned for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision denying his appeal of an Immigration Judge’s order. The Immigration Judge had denied his application for cancellation of removal, and the Board agreed with that determination while adding its own reasoning.
The court’s reasoning
The court held that substantial evidence supported the Board’s determination that the petitioner was ineligible for cancellation of removal because he failed to demonstrate exceptional and extremely unusual hardship for his qualifying relatives. However, the court found the Board erred by failing to consider whether a claims-processing violation occurred due to a defective Notice to Appear issued by the Government. Under Matter of Fernandes, a defective Notice to Appear requires remand to the Immigration Judge so the Department of Homeland Security may remedy the noncompliant notice.
The dissent
What it means going forward
The case is remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeals for further proceedings to address the claims-processing violation related to the defective Notice to Appear, while the denial of cancellation of removal based on hardship remains in effect.