Jose Baltazar Us v. Todd Blanche -Board of Immigration Appeals
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Sixth Circuit denied Jose Baltazar Us’s petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ refusal to grant cancellation of removal. In doing so, the court adopted—consistent with recent Supreme Court guidance—the IIRIRA substantial-evidence standard for reviewing whether removal would cause “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship,” and concluded that no reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to find such hardship on the facts presented.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Proper standard of review (IIRIRA substantial-evidence vs. clear-error) for appellate courts assessing the Board of Immigration Appeals’ determination that removal would not cause “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1)(D).
Circuit Positions
Apply IIRIRA substantial-evidence review to hardship determinations under § 1229b(b)(1)(D).
Apply clear-error review to hardship determinations under § 1229b(b)(1)(D).
Conflict Summary
Most circuits to address the question—including the Sixth Circuit in this opinion—apply the IIRIRA substantial-evidence standard, holding that a Board hardship determination is conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to disagree. The Second Circuit, however, has adopted a clear-error standard, granting appreciably less deference to the agency’s application of the hardship standard to established facts.