Garcia-Hernandez v. Boente

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Garcia‐Hernandez entered the U.S. from Mexico without inspection in 2000. In 2010, Talavera, the mother of his children, obtained an order of protection against him. Weeks later, Garcia‐Hernandez was charged with violating that order and pled guilty. He was sentenced to 12 months of supervision. He was charged as removeable, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). Garcia‐Hernandez sought cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C.1229b(b), which requires that the alien has been physically present in the U.S. for 10 years, has been a person of good moral character during those years, and that removal would result in “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” to the alien’s spouse, parent, or child who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The alien may not have been convicted of an offense under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2), 1227(a)(2), or 1227(a)(3). The IJ found Garcia-Hernandez ineligible for relief because section 1227(a)(2)(E)(ii) disqualifies an alien who a court “determines has engaged in conduct that violates the portion of a protection order that involves protection against credible threats of violence, repeated harassment, or bodily injury.” The charging document to which he pled guilty said that Garcia-Hernandez had harassed Talavera and violated the injunction to stay away from her. The BIA and Seventh Circuit upheld the decision, rejecting an argument that the section did not apply because the charging document did not say that he had actually made credible threats of violence or caused repeated harassment or bodily injury. View "Garcia-Hernandez v. Boente" on Justia Law