Jose Mendez-Morales v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
Docket: 96-2269
Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; October 1, 1997; Federal Appellate Court
Jose Mendez-Morales petitioned for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) order denying his request for adjustment of status and waiver of inadmissibility following his 1992 conviction for first-degree sexual assault of a minor. He conceded deportability due to his conviction, which involved moral turpitude, and sought relief under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). The BIA denied his request, prompting Mendez-Morales to appeal. The court found it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's decision based on two significant amendments to immigration law. First, the April 14, 1996 amendment to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a added a provision stating that any final order of deportation against an alien convicted of certain criminal offenses is not subject to judicial review. The court agreed with the Fifth Circuit that this amendment is jurisdictional and applies retroactively, affecting cases pending at the time of enactment. Second, the September 30, 1996 amendment to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) expanded the definition of "aggravated felony" to include sexual abuse of a minor. Mendez-Morales's conviction qualified as an aggravated felony under this new definition, establishing that he was deportable "by reason of" this conviction. Consequently, the court concluded that it had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal, rejecting Mendez-Morales's argument that the lack of judicial review constituted a violation of due process. The appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.