Aguilar Gonzalez v. Mukasey

I. Background

Modesta Aguilar Gonzalez, a citizen of Mexico, entered the United States as a legal permanent resident in 2000 when she was 19 years old. Her father, Isauro Aguilar Campos, had petitioned for Modesta, her mother, and her four younger brothers to come to the United States. Modesta is a single mother whose son was five months old on the date of the events at issue here. The entire family lives in a house that Modesta jointly owns with one of her brothers. Modesta does not have a criminal record and has had steady employment since at least October of 2001.

On October 23, 2003, Isauro approached Modesta and told her of his plan to bring two undocumented infant relatives into the United States. He explained to her that he needed to use her son’s birth certificate for one of the infants, and that it would be easier to get through inspection if the child’s “mother” was with them. Twice she refused to accompany him or provide him with the birth certificate. When he asked the third time, however, she “reluctantly said yes.” She did not wish to disappoint him, and was particularly concerned because her father helps pay the mortgage on her house. The record does not…