FEDERAL COURT UPDATE

Corteorreal-Castellanos v. Reno, District of Massachusetts

In this case, Corteorreal-Castellanos, a native of the Dominican Republic and permanent resident of the US since 1983, was convicted in 1993 of selling cocaine.  In 1995, he was placed in deportation proceedings.  He applied for a waiver of deportation under section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  By the time his case was heard by an Immigration Judge (IJ), the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which eliminated the waiver, had been passed.  Therefore, the IJ denied his request for a waiver. Corteorreal-Castellanos did not appeal this decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

In 1999, Corteorreal-Castellanos filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, seeking his release from detention.  The INS responded, saying he could not file this case until he exhausted his administrative remedies, which would mean appealing to the Board.  The judge agreed with this position, finding that Corteorreal-Castellanos should file an appeal with the Board.  However, the judge did not dismiss the petition for habeas corpus. Rather, he issued a stay of deportation to provide time to appeal to the Board.  In effect, this means the court will eventually hear the case because Corteorreal-Castellanos’ appeal to the Board will be filed late and they will not hear it.