Chertoff

Ramon Gama Puga, a native and citizen of Mexico, appeals the district court’s dismissal of his habeas petition for lack of jurisdiction under the REAL ID Act, Pub.L. No. 109-13, § 106 (a), 119 Stat. 231 , 310-11 (May 11, 2005). The district court held that the Act “designates [a] petition for review in the appellate courts as the sole means for challenging a final order of removal, and Gama Puga has not demonstrated that this remedy is inadequate or ineffective.” Gama Puga argues that he suffered ineffective assistance of counsel before and during the removal proceedings in violation of his Fifth Amendment due process rights, and that to the extent § 106(a) of the REAL ID Act precludes habeas review of his claim, § 106(a) is unconstitutional.

Although Gama Puga raises an important jurisdictional question about the effect of the REAL ID Act on district courts’ habeas jurisdiction over ineffective assistance of counsel claims brought by alien petitioners, we need not reach that issue here. Instead, we affirm the district court on the grounds that Gama Puga failed to exhaust the administrative remedies that were available to him, and thus his claim was not properly before the…