Mariusz Tomaszczuk v. Matthew Whitaker
Mariusz Tomaszczuk v. Matthew Whitaker
Opinion
Petitioner Mariusz Tomaszczuk petitions this Court to review the November 3, 2017, Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"), dismissing Petitioner's appeal of the May 15, 2017, Order of the Immigration Judge ("IJ") denying his application for cancellation of removal. Petitioner was denied relief pursuant to
BACKGROUND
Petitioner is a native and citizen of Poland. Petitioner's wife is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, and she and Petitioner have a son who is a United States citizen. Petitioner last entered the United States, to remain, in April 1999. The Department of Homeland Security commenced removal proceedings against Petitioner on October 14, 2016, by filing with the immigration court a notice to appear, charging Petitioner with being removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled.
On April 4, 2017, Petitioner filed an application for cancellation of removal. Petitioner's hearing before an Immigration Judge ("IJ") took place on May 8, 2017, at which Petitioner, his wife, and his son testified. On May 15, 2017, the IJ issued an order denying Petitioner's application. The IJ's order found that Petitioner was a "habitual drunkard" under
Petitioner appealed that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA" or "Board"), and on November 3, 2017, the BIA dismissed Petitioner's appeal. The Board disagreed with the IJ's finding as to § 1101(f)(7), but affirmed the IJ's determination that Petitioner was a "habitual drunkard."
Following the Board's decision, Petitioner petitioned this Court for review pursuant to
DISCUSSION
The Attorney General may cancel the scheduled removal of a nonpermanent resident from the United States under various circumstances. 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b). One such circumstance is where a nonpermanent resident meets the following four requirements: (1) he has been continuously physically present in the United States for at least ten years, (2) he has exhibited good moral character during that time, (3) he has never been convicted of any of a list of enumerated criminal offenses, and (4) he demonstrates that removal would result in "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to his family members who are lawfully present in the United States.
(1) a habitual drunkard;
* * *
(3) a member of one or more of the classes of persons, whether inadmissible or not, described in paragraphs (2)(D) [relating to those who engage in or facilitate prostitution or other unlawful commercialized vice], (6)(E) [relating to smugglers], and (10)(A) [relating to practicing polygamists] of section 1182(a) of this title; or subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 1182(a)(2) of this title [relating to crimes of moral turpitude and multiple criminal convictions] and subparagraph (C) thereof [relating to controlled substance traffickers] ... (except as such paragraph relates to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marihuana), if the offense described therein, for which such person was convicted or of which he admits the commission, was committed during such period;
(4) one whose income is derived principally from illegal gambling activities;
(5) one who has been convicted of two or more gambling offenses committed during such period;
(6) one who has given false testimony for the purpose of obtaining any benefits under this chapter;
(7) one who during such period has been confined, as a result of conviction, to a penal institution for an aggregate period of one hundred and eighty days or more, regardless of whether the offense, or offenses, for which he has been confined were committed within or without such period;
(8) one who at any time has been convicted of an aggravated felony (as defined in subsection (a)(43) ); or
(9) one who at any time has engaged in conduct described in section 1182(a)(3)(E) of this title (relating to assistance in Nazi persecution, participation in genocide, or commission of acts of torture or extrajudicial killings) or 1182(a)(2)(G) of this title (relating to severe violations of religious freedom).
Petitioner claims on appeal that § 1101(f)(1), the "habitual drunkard" provision, is void for vagueness and violates equal protection. 1 Petitioner also claims that the BIA and IJ violated his Due Process rights by considering impermissible evidence and harboring bias against him. We will look at each claim in turn.
I. Void for Vagueness Challenge to § 1101(f)(1)
This Court reviews challenges to the constitutionality of a statute
de novo
.
United States v. Coss
,
However, we do not reach the merits of this challenge because we hold that Petitioner is unable to raise it. An individual "must establish that [he or] she has been deprived of a life, liberty, or property interest sufficient to trigger the protection of the Due Process Clause" before being allowed to raise a Due Process challenge.
Ashki v. INS
,
Petitioner relies on
Shuti v. Lynch
,
Petitioner also cites post-
Ashki
cases where this Court purported to recognize some Due Process interest in discretionary relief.
See
Montanez-Gonzalez v. Holder
,
For this reason, we do not reach the merits of Petitioner's void for vagueness challenge.
II. Equal Protection Challenge to § 1101(f)(1)
Petitioner's Equal Protection challenge to § 1101(f)(1) is without merit. We must decide whether there is a rational basis for saying that a "habitual drunkard" lacks "good moral character," and we hold that § 1101(f)(1) survives this deferential review.
It is undisputed in this case that the statute is subject to rational basis review.
Ashki
,
To decide whether being a "habitual drunkard" is rationally related to having "good moral character," we must first define "habitual drunkard." Neither the Supreme Court nor this Court has interpreted the term; indeed, few courts have. A BIA decision over sixty years ago held that "chronic alcohol[ism]" could constitute habitual drunkenness.
Matter of H-,
The dictionary definitions of "habitual drunkard" from around the time the statute was passed are not very helpful. Two entries emphasize the loss of willpower; another requires "a fixed habit of frequently getting drunk, though not oftener drunk than sober, and though sober for weeks at a time;" another states that "[i]t is not necessary that the person shall have lost his will power ... or that he be intoxicated so often as to incapacitate him from attending to his business for a considerable portion of time."
Black's Law Dictionary
839 (4th ed. 1951) (citations omitted). However, "[w]hether a statutory term is unambiguous ... does not turn solely on dictionary definitions of its component words ... [but can also turn on] the specific context in which that language is used, and the broader context of the statute as a whole."
Yates v. United States
, --- U.S. ----,
Two canons of statutory interpretation lead us to conclude that alcoholism
alone does not make an individual a "habitual drunkard," and that there must be some harmful conduct associated with one's drinking to fit this definition. First, the canon that different words in a statute have different meanings supports this conclusion, since Congress used both "habitual drunkard" and "chronic alcoholic" in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Compare
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, ch. 477,
Further, the canon of
noscitur a sociis
makes clear that Congress intended the term "habitual drunkard" to focus on an individual's conduct, as opposed to his or her status as an alcoholic alone. "[T]he commonsense canon of
noscitur a sociis
... counsels that a word is given more precise content by the neighboring words with which it is associated."
United States v. Williams
,
Together, this is sufficient evidence to conclude that Congress intended the term "habitual drunkard" to focus on the conduct associated with an applicant's drinking, rather than solely on whether the applicant has the status of an alcoholic.
Because the term "habitual drunkard" focuses on an individual's conduct- i.e. , the harm to others or negative consequences to society that results from one's drinking-Petitioner's equal protection challenge falls flat. A tendency to drink to excess and engage in harmful conduct is, under the statute, rationally related to lacking good moral character, and the statute therefore survives rational basis review. As discussed above, this is so regardless of whether the categorization is somewhat over- or underinclusive.
Because Congress could find that habitual drunkenness was rationally related to lacking good moral character, we hold that § 1101(f)(1) does not violate the Equal Protection Clause.
III. Due Process Claims
Petitioner alleges that the Immigration Judge and the BIA violated his Due Process rights by considering evidence outside of the relevant ten-year period and by harboring bias against him. This Court lacks jurisdiction over these claims because Petitioner did not properly preserve them.
This Court may review a final order for removal "only if the alien has exhausted all administrative remedies available to the alien as a matter of right."
Petitioner failed to satisfy the exhaustion requirement in this case because these claims were not included in either Petitioner's notice of appeal to the BIA or his supporting brief.
Because Petitioner failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, we lack jurisdiction over these claims.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, we DENY the petition for review.
The federal government is not subject to the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause but still must comply with the requirements of that clause.
Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. v. Napolitano
,
The statute as amended no longer includes this language.
See
These provisions were essentially the same in the original 1952 INA.
See
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, ch. 477,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mariusz TOMASZCZUK, Petitioner, v. Matthew G. WHITAKER, Acting Attorney General, Respondent.
- Cited By
- 25 cases
- Status
- Published