Lopez-Gabriel v. Holder, Jr., No. 10-3802 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitioned for review of a decision of the BIA dismissing his appeal from an IJ's order removing him from the United States. Petitioner asserted that the evidence of his alienage was obtained in violation of his rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and the evidence should have been suppressed or, at a minimum, he should have been afforded an evidentiary hearing on his motion to suppress evidence. The court held that the exclusionary rule generally did not apply to a civil deportation proceeding; petitioner's case for exclusion of evidence was even weaker where the alleged misconduct was committed by an agent of a separate sovereign; and, in any event, the court agreed with the BIA that the evidence of alleged "egregious violations" here was insufficient to warrant a hearing on petitioner's motion to suppress. The court also held that there was no need for a hearing or exclusion of evidence because the record contained no support for petitioner's belief that the traffic stop and arrest were racially motivated and because the DHS, in any event, justified the officer's actions. The court further held that the statements petitioner made to police and ICE agents were voluntary and admissible where he did not submit evidence of "promises, prolonged interrogation, interference with his right to counsel or other indicia of coercion or duress" that might suggest that his statements were involuntary. Therefore, the petition for review was denied.
Court Description: Petition for review - Immigration. Because there was no basis for petitioner's belief that a state traffic stop and arrest were racially motivated, the evidence of his alienage gained through the stop and subsequent events was admissible, and the agency did not err in denying his request for a hearing on exclusion of the evidence; statements petitioner made to police and ICE agents were voluntary and admissible.
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