Hee Yung Ahn and Kyung Hee Ahn v. Immigration & Naturalization Service

651 F.2d 1285 HEE YUNG AHN and Kyung Hee Ahn, Petitioners-Appellants, v. IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent-Appellee. No. 79-7062. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted June 4, 1981. Decided July 14, 1981. Rehearing Denied Sept. 30, 1981. Steven D. Karp, Beverly Hills, Cal., for petitioners-appellants. Dzintra J. Janavs, Los Angeles, Cal., for respondent-appellee. On Petition to Review a Decision of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Before TRASK and SNEED, Circuit Judges, and EAST, * District Judge. SNEED, Circuit Judge: 1 The Ahns seek suspension of deportation under section 244(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1), arguing that they will suffer extreme hardship if deported. An immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals considered their claim and concluded that they had not shown extreme hardship. The Ahns petitioned this court for review of the Board's order under 8 U.S.C. § 1105a. We decline to disturb the order denying suspension of deportation. 2 Mr. and Mrs. Ahn entered the United States from Korea as non-immigrants in 1967 and 1965 respectively. They have two children,…

The Ahns seek suspension of deportation under section 244(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1), arguing that they will suffer extreme hardship if deported. An immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals considered their claim and concluded that they had not shown extreme hardship. The Ahns petitioned this court for review of the Board’s order under 8 U.S.C. § 1105a. We decline to disturb the order denying suspension of deportation.

Mr. and Mrs. Ahn entered the United States from Korea as non-immigrants in 1967 and 1965 respectively. They have two children, both of whom were born in the United States. The Immigration and Naturalization Service instituted deportation proceedings against them in 1974. The Ahns conceded deportability but applied for suspension of deportation. Under section 244(a)(1) the Attorney General may suspend deportation of an alien who has been in the *1286 United States for seven years, is a person of good moral character, and shows that deportation would result in extreme hardship. Following a hearing, an immigration judge found that the Ahns had not established extreme hardship and the Board affirmed.

The Ahns’…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s opinion. I do not believe the record indicates the Board properly considered the factors of hardship, nor do I read the Board’s prior cases to exclude consideration of economic hardship. Finally, I believe the majority is unduly influenced by the wash of the wake of Wang.

The Board must cumulatively consider the factors of economic hardship presented by an alien. See Villena v. INS, 622 F.2d 1352, 1357 (9th Cir. 1980) (en banc); Urbano de Malaluan v. INS, 577 F.2d 589, 594 (9th Cir. 1978). My reading of the Board’s concluding paragraph, quoted by the majority, supra, does not convince me that the Board considered the hardship factors together. The decision notes that certain detriment “alone” is insufficient, and other hardships are “additional factors to be considered” but not conclusive. This does not assure me that the Board properly reviewed the Ahns’ petition, nor can it assure the Ahns that they received the treatment they were legally entitled to.

The Board also improperly excluded from its consideration potential economic detriment rooted in political sources. I agree with the majority that the fact of political…