Windell Javillonar Retuta v. Holder

I. Background

Windell Javillonar Retuta is a twenty-seven-year-old citi- zen and national of the Philippines who was admitted into the United States as a lawful permanent resident alien on June 5, 1992. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) served Retuta with a Notice to Appear (NTA) on December 15, 2003, alleging multiple grounds for removal. On January 7, 2004, DHS amended the NTA to bring the total allegations of prior convictions sufficient for removal to four. DHS alleged that Retuta was convicted of (1) buying stolen property, in violation of § 496(a) of the California Penal Code, (2) posses- sion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, in violation 502 RETUTA v. HOLDER of § 11377(a) of the California Health and Safety Code, (3) use of a controlled substance, in violation of § 11550 of the California Health and Safety Code, and (4) domestic battery, in violation of § 242 and § 243(e) of the California Penal Code.

During removal proceedings before the IJ, the Government chose to proceed only on the controlled substances violations and rejected the opportunity to delay the proceedings in order to submit documentation that would support the other…