Chavarria-Reyes v. Lynch

An immigration judge (IJ) ordered Chavarria‐Reyes removed to Mexico after concluding that he lacked permission to be here and was ineligible for discretionary relief because he has committed a crime of moral turpitude. The BIA affirmed. The Seventh Circuit denied a petition for review. The court held that, although the IJ failed in his duty, Chavarria-Reyes failed to exhaust remedies with respect to the IJ’s failure to alert him to the possibility of voluntary departure under 8 U.S.C. 1229c(a). An alien who departs voluntarily has more opportunity to return in later years than an alien removed involuntarily. Voluntary departure usually depends on a showing of good moral character: Chavarria‐Reyes has at least three convictions, for domestic battery, retail theft, and home‐repair fraud. Voluntary departure under section 240B(a) is available without regard to the alien’s character, if the alien makes the request at the outset of proceedings and forswears all other arguments. The court noted that the checklist for use at hearings with aliens who have counsel, the category in which the IJ (wrongly) supposed Chavarria‐Reyes to be, does not call on the IJ to give advice about voluntary departure under section 240B(a), whether or not some other option is available. View "Chavarria-Reyes v. Lynch" on Justia Law