Manuel Servin-Espinoza v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General Charles Demore
Opinion
Opinion
Fletcher, J.
Lawful permanent resident Manuel Servin-Espinoza was ordered deported to Mexico after conviction of an aggravated felony. The district court granted Servin-Espinoza’s petition for writ of habeas corpus on the ground that enforcing § 440(d) of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), Pub.L. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996), which bars discretionary relief under former § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), against deportable aliens but not excludable aliens violated the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause during the time period in question. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
I. Background
Servin-Espinoza is a citizen of Mexico and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. In 1996, Servin-Espinoza pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine for sale. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) charged him with deportability under INA former § 241 (a)(2)(A)(iii), 8 U.S.C. former § 1251 (a)(2)(A)(iii), for conviction of an aggravated felony after entry into the United States. The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) ordered Servin-Espinoza deported to Mexico on September 18,1998.