Ramiro Cruz Espinoza v. Immigration & Naturalization Service

Ramiro Cruz Espinoza seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (“BIA”’s') dismissal of his appeal of an immigration judge’s deportation order. Cruz Espinoza claims that the BIA erred in holding that an Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) form prepared by border agents who apprehended him was admissible at his deportation hearing and constituted clear and convincing evidence that he was deportable. We have jurisdiction under- 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a), and we affirm.

I

On July 10, 1992, the INS apprehended Cruz Espinoza in California and issued an Order to Show Cause alleging that Cruz Espinoza was a. Mexican citizen who had entered the United States illegally in 1989. Cruz Espinoza was charged under 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (a)(1)(B), which prohibits entering the country without inspection.

At deportation hearings on August 25 and September 24, 1992, Cruz Espinoza’s attorney denied the charge. Id. at 104 . After stating his name, Cruz Espinoza invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer further questions. The only evidence offered by the INS was a copy of an INS Form 1-21.3, Record of a Deportable Alien. The form, which border agents routinely complete after…