Torres-Rendon v. Holder
Petitioner, born in Mexico, entered the U.S. without inspection in 1977. In 1982, he purported to marry an American woman while still married to his wife in Mexico. He was admitted as a lawful permanent resident in 1984. In 1987, petitioner was convicted of delivery of a controlled substance. Removal proceedings were suspended until 2009, when he was apprehended while returning from a trip to Mexico. Petitioner conceded deportability, but applied for waivers of deportation under former sections 241(f) and 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and for suspension of deportation pursuant to former section 244(a)(2). An immigration judge denied the applications; the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. The Seventh Circuit denied review. Petitioner was never charged or found deportable based on fraud; he was charged only based on his controlled substance offense and was ineligible for a 241 waiver. He was ineligible for suspension of deportation because his period of continuous physical presence ended with his drug crime in 1987, or, in the alternative, when an Order to Show Cause issued in 1988.