Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Kucana v. Holder

Kucana v. Holder, 558 U.S. 233 (2010)

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
2010-01-20
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • holding that § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii)’s jurisdictional bar applies “only to Attorney General determinations made discretionary by statute”
  • concluding that the discretionary decision bar did not’ apply to decisions made discretionary by regulation
  • holding that federal courts have jurisdiction to review BIA denials of timely motions to reopen removal proceedings
  • holding that section 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) barred jurisdiction of decisions specified by statute as discretionary but did not bar decisions specified by regulation as discretionary
  • holding that “[a]ction on motions to reopen . . . remain subject to judicial review”
  • holding that the court has no jurisdiction to review the denial of a continuance
  • holding that statutory provisions must be read in context and relying on the other statutory provisions that a particular provision is “sandwiched” between to delineate its scope
  • holding that a statutory jurisdiction-stripping provision applied only to “[agency] determinations made discretionary by statute, [and not] to determinations declared discretionary by the [agency itself] through regulation”

Citator

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Cited by
841 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Immigration — Judicial Review The bar on judicial review in 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B) applies only to determinations made discretionary by statute, not to determinations that the Attorney General has declared discretionary by regulation; the words "specified under this subchapter" refer to statutory, not regulatory, specifications. 130 S. Ct. 827, 831 (2010)
  2. Immigration — Motions to Reopen A motion to reopen removal proceedings is an important safeguard intended to ensure a proper and lawful disposition of immigration proceedings. 130 S. Ct. 827, 833 (2010)
  3. Immigration — Judicial Review Federal courts review administrative denials of motions to reopen removal proceedings under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard, mindful of the Board of Immigration Appeals' broad discretion in such matters. 130 S. Ct. 827, 833 (2010)
  4. Statutory Interpretation — Meaning Derived from Context A word with many dictionary definitions must draw its meaning from its statutory context; where § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) is sandwiched between § 1252(a)(2)(A) and § 1252(a)(2)(C), both of which depend on statutory provisions rather than regulations to define their scope, the neighboring provision is likewise expected to cover statutory provisions alone. 130 S. Ct. 827, 835-836 (2010)
  5. Statutory Interpretation — Associated Words and Phrases Where a statute sets out a series of specific items ending with a general catchall term, the general term is confined to subjects comparable to the specifics it follows; the enumeration in § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i) of determinations Congress expressly made discretionary by statute, followed by the "any other decision" catchall in clause (ii), indicates that Congress barred review of discretionary decisions only where Congress itself specified the Attorney General's discretionary authority in the statute. 130 S. Ct. 827, 836-837 (2010)
  6. Immigration — Judicial Review The substantive decisions Congress insulated from judicial review under § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i) — including waivers of inadmissibility, cancellation of removal, voluntary departure, and adjustment of status — concern whether aliens may remain in the country; decisions on motions to reopen made discretionary by regulation are adjunct rulings that ordinarily touch only the question whether the alien's claims have been accorded a reasonable hearing, and reversing the denial of such a motion does not direct the Executive to afford the alien substantive relief. 130 S. Ct. 827, 837-838 (2010)
  7. Statutory Interpretation — Inclusion and Exclusion Where Congress includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that Congress acted intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion; Congress's silence in § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) regarding regulations, contrasted with its express references to regulations in provisions enacted simultaneously, supports the conclusion that the bar on judicial review extends only to statutory specifications of discretion. 130 S. Ct. 827, 838 (2010)
  8. Immigration — Motions to Reopen Although Congress codified the process for filing motions to reopen and simultaneously barred judicial review of a number of executive decisions regarding removal, it did not codify the regulation delegating to the Board of Immigration Appeals discretion to grant or deny reopening motions; the Board retains broad discretion conferred by the Attorney General over such motions, but courts retain jurisdiction to review the Board's decisions. 130 S. Ct. 827, 838-839 (2010)
  9. Constitutional Law — Judicial Review When a statute is reasonably susceptible to divergent interpretation, courts adopt the reading that executive determinations generally are subject to judicial review; this well-settled presumption applies to legislation regarding immigration, particularly to questions concerning the preservation of federal-court jurisdiction, and may be displaced only by clear and convincing evidence. 130 S. Ct. 827, 839-840 (2010)
  10. Constitutional Law — Separation of Powers By defining the jurisdictional bars in § 1252(a)(2) by reference to other provisions of the immigration statute itself, Congress ensured that it, and only it, would limit the federal courts' jurisdiction; a construction permitting the Executive to shelter its own decisions from judicial review simply by issuing a regulation declaring those decisions discretionary would effect an extraordinary delegation of authority that cannot be extracted from the statute. 130 S. Ct. 827, 840 (2010)
  11. Immigration — Judicial Review While Congress pared back judicial review in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, it did not delegate to the Executive the authority to preclude review of its own decisions; action on motions to reopen, made discretionary by the Attorney General only through regulation, remains subject to judicial review. 130 S. Ct. 827, 840 (2010)
  12. Immigration — Judicial Review A regulation rendering a decision of the Attorney General discretionary does not remove federal-court jurisdiction under § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) where the regulation, as applied, was not issued pursuant to authority conferred by Subchapter II of the immigration statute at issue. 130 S. Ct. 827, 841 (Alito, J., concurring in the judgment)