Roman Resurreccion v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Roman Resurrección, a native and citizen of the Philippines, challenges a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) finding him removable as an aggravated felon. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(iii). Petitioner Resurrec-ción claims that the doctrine of res judica-ta barred the resumption of his deportation proceedings after an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) entered a termination order, and he asserts that the subsequently entered removal order must therefore be vacated.

Petitioner’s argument is unavailing. The IJ ordered proceedings terminated on February 3, 2009. That order was not yet final when the Department of Homeland Security filed new charges two days later, on February 5, because the agency had reserved its right to appeal, and it had thirty days to decide whether to do so. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.39 (stating that, “[e]xcept when certified to the Board, the decision of the Immigration Judge becomes final upon waiver of appeal or upon expiration of the time to appeal if no appeal is taken[,] whichever occurs first”). As noted by the BIA, an agency regulation permits additional charges to be brought at “any time” during deportation or removal proceedings. 8…