Samuel Cardenas, a native of the Dominican Republic who entered the U.S. without authorization as a teenager, faced removal proceedings after being charged with inadmissibility. Cardenas sought two forms of relief: cancellation of removal for non-lawful permanent residents and special rule cancellation for battered children. His case involved severe domestic violence committed by his stepfather, Francisco Escolastico, against Cardenas and his mother, Maria Perdomo. Escolastico abused Cardenas and violently beat Perdomo, eventually obtaining lawful permanent resident status himself. Cardenas argued that his mother would suffer exceptional hardship if he were deported, citing her history of suicide attempts and PTSD. The Immigration Judge denied both applications, relying on a Board of Immigration Appeals precedent that required the abuser to hold permanent resident status at the time the abuse occurred. The BIA affirmed this denial, though a dissent argued that the mother's hardship was indeed exceptional given the abuse history.
The court addressed two distinct legal issues. First, regarding special rule cancellation, the court analyzed the statutory language of 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(2)(A)(i)(II), which requires the abuser to be a parent 'who is or was a lawful permanent resident.' The court applied plain text interpretation, noting that the present tense 'is' includes the future and the period up to adjudication, while 'was' covers the past. The court reasoned that if Congress intended to limit relief to abusers who were LPRs at the time of abuse, it would have used language such as 'who was then' an LPR. The court found the Board's reliance on Matter of L-L-P- erroneous because it rendered the disjunctive 'or was' superfluous and ignored the plain meaning of the statute. Consequently, the court held that Cardenas is eligible for special rule cancellation because his abuser obtained LPR status before Cardenas sought relief. Second, regarding standard cancellation of removal, the court applied the substantial evidence standard. The court found that the Immigration Judge and BIA reasonably considered Cardenas's evidence of his mother's mental health risks but also weighed mitigating factors, including her remarriage, full-time employment, and lack of current fear of the abuser. The court concluded that the evidence did not compel a finding of 'exceptional and extremely unusual hardship' as required by 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1)(D).
The case is remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeals to adjudicate Cardenas's application for special rule cancellation of removal. This opens the possibility for Cardenas to receive relief if he meets the remaining statutory requirements, such as demonstrating extreme hardship to himself or his parent. However, his request for standard cancellation of removal remains denied, and the legal standard for proving exceptional hardship in that context remains unchanged. The decision clarifies that battered child relief is not limited to cases where the abuser held permanent resident status at the exact time of the abuse.
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