Background
Alex Ramirez sought review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order affirming an immigration judge’s denial of his application for cancellation of removal. Ramirez argued the immigration courts lacked jurisdiction because the notice to appear incorrectly stated he was a native and citizen of El Salvador, when he is actually a native and citizen of Guatemala. He admitted to falsely claiming El Salvadorian citizenship when applying for temporary protected status in two thousand and one and providing false identification to obtain work authorization.
The court’s reasoning
The court explained that while the Immigration and Nationality Act requires a written notice to appear, neither the statute nor associated regulations establish jurisdictional rules. The court cited Perez-Sanchez v. U.S. Attorney General to clarify that noncompliance with content requirements in Section twelve hundred twenty-nine does not deprive the immigration court of jurisdiction. The court found the notice to appear was not fatally deficient for misidentifying Ramirez’s country of origin.
What it means going forward
Immigration courts retain jurisdiction over removal proceedings even if the notice to appear contains errors regarding the noncitizen’s country of origin.