Perez

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Perez, a thirty-year-old native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without inspection on June 12, 2000. He filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal on May 13, 2002. On July 1, 2002, the former Immi- gration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) initiated removal proceedings against him.1 Perez was personally served with notice that he was to appear for a removal hearing scheduled for December 4, 2002 at 9:00 AM. The notice contained a warning that failure to appear at the hearing, absent “excep- tional circumstances[,]” could result in a removal order being entered in absentia. He appeared promptly at his scheduled hearing. At that time, Perez was served with notice of his next scheduled hearing, set for March 12, 2003 at 9:00 AM. This notice again contained a warning that failure to appear, absent “exceptional circumstances[,]” could result in a removal order being entered in absentia.

On the morning of March 12, 2003, Perez was making his way to the courthouse when his car overheated in the middle of rush hour traffic. He pulled the car off of the freeway and waited for it to cool. When he restarted it and…