Rojas v. Holder Jr., No. 08-74331 (9th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePetitioner petitioned for review of the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's denial of petitioner's application for voluntary departure. Petitioner argued that the IJ erred by considering facts which, in a criminal case, might be evidence of a crime. He contended that in doing so, the IJ was using a crime as evidence against him even though he had not then been convicted of the crime alleged against him. The evidence of petitioner's sexual conduct with a minor was probative as to his bad character and undesirability for permanent residency, and it was therefore properly considered by the IJ. Although petitioner had not been convicted of a crime for the activity, he admitted the underlying facts before the IJ. Further, the IJ's discretionary consideration of that admission did not violate petitioner's due process rights by denying him a presumption of innocence. Accordingly, the court held that the IJ committed no error and denied the petition.
Court Description: Immigration. The panel denied Oscar Rojas’s petition for review from the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision affirming without opinion an Immigration Judge’s order denying him pre-conclusion voluntary departure. The panel held that the IJ did not err in considering evidence of Rojas's sexual conduct with a minor, even though he had not been convicted of a crime, because it was probative as to his bad character and undesirability for permanent residency. The panel also held that the IJ's consideration of the underlying facts of the crime did not violate due process, because Rojas had admitted that he, as an adult, had sexual relations with a minor.
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