Aguilera-Montero

I. BACKGROUND

Aguilera-Montero has a long history of illegal presence in this country. His original illegal entry was in September, 1986. On August 17, 1991, he was granted voluntary depar- ture, but failed to depart. On June 19, 1992, he was appre- hended and became the subject of deportation proceedings. On August 25, 1992, an immigration judge (IJ) granted him voluntary departure, and he again failed to depart. On Febru- ary 20, 1993, he was deported, and he re-entered illegally on March 1, 1993. On October 13, 1993, deportation proceedings were commenced against Aguilera-Montero. On January 26, 1994, he was granted voluntary departure and failed to depart yet again. He was “encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol on January 3, 1995, while working illegally.” Although he was deported on January 11, 1995, Aguilera-Montero re-entered the country illegally “on or about April 15, 1995.” AGUILERA-MONTERO v. MUKASEY 15873 On February 4, 1993, Aguilera-Montero pled guilty to unlawful possession of cocaine. On April 30, 2001, he filed an application for adjustment of status to permanent resident due to his marriage to a United States citizen. Aguilera- Montero’s…