Francisco Garfias-Rodriguez v. Eric Holder, Jr., No. 09-72603 (9th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePetitioner appealed a final removal order issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") which determined that petitioner was ineligible for adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. 1255(i). At issue was whether the interpretation of section 1182(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) and 8 U.S.C. 1255(i) in Acosta v. Gonzales had precedence over the BIA's subsequent and contrary reading in Matter of Briones. Also at issue was whether the BIA, if Briones was controlling, impermissibly applied it to petitioner. Further at issue was whether the Attorney General exceeded his authority by promulgating 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(i), which terminated a grant of voluntary departure upon the filing of a petition for review of a final removal order. The court held that the BIA's decision in Briones addressed a statutory ambiguity and was entitled to Chevron deference and that petitioner was inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. 1182(9)(C)(i)(I), was not subject to the exception in section 1182(a)(9)(C)(ii), and not eligible for adjustment under section 8 U.S.C. 1255(i). The court also held that the BIA properly applied its decision in Briones to petitioner where, under Chevron and Brand X, the BIA had authority to offer authoritative constructions of immigration provisions. The court further held that 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(i) was a proper exercise of the Attorney General's authority and there was no need to inquire further into the reasonableness of the regulation.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on March 1, 2012.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on October 19, 2012.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.