Marcos Barrera-Leyva v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Marcos Barrera-Leyva seeks review, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a, of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) dismissing his appeal from a decision by an immigration judge denying suspension of deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1).

I. Factual Background

Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, who is now 33 years old, entered the United States without inspection in March, 1969. He was in Mexico briefly in 1974, and has not been out of the United States since then. He lives in Oxnard, California with his wife and seven children, five of whom were born in Mexico and two of whom are United States citizens. Petitioner’s wife went to Mexico to give birth to each of the five older children. The children remained in Mexico until 1975, when they came to the United States. They are all now attending school in the United States. The two younger children were born in the United States on October 4, 1977, and September 15, 1978, respectively.

Petitioner has four sisters living in Chicago, and a brother in Farmersville, California. All are lawful permanent residents of the United States. Petitioner’s parents, two other brothers, and two other sisters live in Mexico. His…