In Walters v. Reno, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed down an opinion of nationwide impact. By certifying the plaintiffs as a class for the purposes of the lawsuit, the court has allowed people from different parts of the country in similar situations to join to bring the lawsuit.

The court in Walters held that aliens facing deportation for fraudulent documentation are not afforded a proper opportunity to make a knowing and intelligent waiver of their right to a hearing on the matter. Normally, a hearing on document fraud charges is held only upon a written request by the defendant. The court held that a host of factors makes it highly likely that an alien receiving the document fraud and deportation forms will be confused and misled.

The court also found that the injunctive relief ordered by the district court was proper in scope. The district court ordered the INS to clarify its forms and to grant hearings to those immigrants who might have been deprived of a hearing due to confusion.

In Auguste v. Reno, a rehearing by the Eleventh Circuit, the court found that it did have jurisdiction to hear the appeal based on section 309(c) of the IIRAIRA. It had originally dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Upon finding that it did have jurisdiction over the case, the court went on to decide the merits of the case.

The court found that the waiver of a deportation or removal hearing under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program (VWPP) is made knowingly and intelligently. The court held that INS and Congress intended that "the mere execution of the VWPP waiver form would conclusively establish a knowing and voluntary waiver." This constituted a reversal by the circuit court of the district court's grant of a deportation hearing based on the insufficiency of the plaintiff's waiver.

In contrast to the scope of the Walters decision, the court's decision in Auguste is only binding on courts in the Eleventh Circuit, which is situated in the southeastern United States.