Isunza v. Lynch, No. 15-1286 (7th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseIsunza came to the U.S. from Mexico at age 17 in 1978. His parents were lawfully present in the U.S., but Isunza became a permanent resident through the sponsorship of his wife in 1994. In 1998, he was found guilty of possession of 0.1 grams of cocaine and placed on probation. He successfully renewed his permanent resident card in 2000 and traveled to Mexico without incident in 2000, 2001, 2006, and 2011. When he returned to Chicago from Mexico in 2011, authorities confiscated his permanent resident card. DHS alleged that Isunza was subject to removal as an alien convicted of a controlled substance offense, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). Isunza argued that his continuous residency in the U.S. after re-entering in 2000 made him eligible for cancellation of removal, 8 U.S.C. 1229b(a). The IJ found him ineligible because the clock for accruing time toward continuous residency stopped when Isunza was convicted in 1998; his subsequent departures from and returns to the U.S. did not start the clock again. The BIA dismissed his appeal. The Seventh Circuit denied an appeal, without considering a new argument that his admission into the U.S. as a minor should count toward his continuous residency. The BIA reasonably interpreted the statute and refused to consider that argument.
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