New Appellate Procedure Challenged
Falcon-Carriche v. Ashcroft, "335 F.3d 1009 (9th Cir. 2003), amended, 350 F.3d 845 (9th Cir. 2003)."
Portillo-Moscoso v. Ashcroft

At the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, this case challenges the new procedure implemented by the Board of Immigration Appeals that allows for a single Board member to affirm appeals without discussion, and without a written explanation. This issue potentially impacts thousands of immigrants across the country, as the procedure leaves them guessing why their appeals were denied, and whether they were correctly analyzed. For many immigrants, the Board is their last chance for appeal, so it is imperative that their appeals are given proper consideration.

UPDATE: As expected, the Ninth Circuit followed other federal circuits and denied the Falcon-Carriche appeal in July 2003. It then amended its opinion at our request to clarify legal points. This seminal decision has been cited to by most other federal circuit courts, and is referenced in most immigration-related decisions published by the Ninth Circuit. Fortunately, Hill & Piibe successfully moved the BIA to reopen the case for further evidence, and it has been remanded to the Immigration Judge where it remains pending.

The American Immigration Law Foundation provided helpful assistance, along with attorneys from the San Francisco law firm of Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, as well as the National Immigration Law Center. The Portillo case was later denied by the Ninth Circuit for the same reasons.

For more information see:
The Los Angeles Times article on the procedure
Read the decision
And its amendment
AILF's discussion of the case
Metropolitan News article about the case
NILC's report on the case