Supreme Court Rules on Patel v. Garland
The Supreme Court has made a recent ruling on an immigration case. The gist of the ruling demonstrates that any immigrant must be extremely careful while filling out any public document.
In Patel v. Garland, Pankajkumar S. Patel was a citizen of India who entered the United States unlawfully in 1992. He was attempting to become a lawful permanent resident.
He lived in Georgia, where immigration status does not impact a person’s ability to get a driver’s license, and applied for a driver’s license. He checked the wrong box on the form and was accused of doing it on purpose. Mr. Patel says it was an honest mistake and checking the box wouldn’t have even impacted his ability to get a driver’s license one way or another.
He was charged with making a false statement. The charges were dropped but he, his wife, and his son were placed in removal proceedings.
The Supreme Court ruled that they have a “limited role to play” in determining whether or not an individual immigration decision can be overturned because this was not a legal or constitutional question. This means that certain factual findings cannot come up for review in deportation proceedings. The argument was essentially that federal courts lack jurisdiction in discretionary-relief proceedings.
Obviously this limits some removal defense options.
Until you are a lawful permanent resident or a United States Citizen all of your actions could come under scrutiny. It may not be fair that an honest mistake can create problems for you years later, but it’s the truth. In addition, those who first entered the United States illegally need to work very closely with an immigration lawyer to explore options for adjusting their status, because immigration officials are not always compassionate or understanding.
Sometimes problems like these can be caught and dealt with if an immigration attorney catches them or knows about them.
Not sure about your own status? Reach out to Hykel Law today. Our office can help you attain your best chance of remaining in the United States and managing issues that might arise. When even minor issues can become major, deportable issues, you can’t afford to manage your presence in the United States without an immigration attorney.
See also:
Philadelphia’s Status as a Sanctuary City: What It Means
