Idelfonso Manzo-Fontes v. Immigration & Naturalization Service

OVERVIEW

Idelfonso Manzo-Fontes was found deport-able by an Immigration Judge (“IJ”). He sought relief from deportation under section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“the Act”), 8 U.S.C. § 1259 . The IJ concluded that Manzo-Fontes was statutorily ineligible for relief because he had not “resided in the United States continuously” since his entry in 1968. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed, and Manzo-Fontes appeals. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a), and we affirm.

FACTS

Idelfonso Manzo-Fontes was born in Can-anea, Mexico, in 1959. He entered the United States as a child in 1968 and has lived with his aunt in Tacna, Arizona, since then. He attended school in the United States, participated in sports, joined a volunteer fire department, and attended a Catholic church in his community. Prior to 1986, Manzo-Fontes went to Mexico occasionally for brief family visits. In April 1986, Manzo-Fontes attended an interview in Mexico with an American consular official regarding his application for permanent resident status in the United States. During the interview, Man-zo-Fontes admitted that his marriage the previous year was solely for the…