Lucila Avendano-Ramirez v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Lucila Avendano-Ramirez petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of her application for cancellation of removal. The BIA did so because she had been removed pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1225 (b), within five years and could not, therefore, establish her good moral character. See §§ 1101(f)(3), 1182(a)(9)(A). We deny the petition.

BACKGROUND

Avendano entered the United States illegally on January 23, 1990. She left for a trip to Mexico for about a month between January and February of 2001 in order to visit her ailing father. When she attempted to return to the United States on February 19 and, again, on February 22, 2001, she was ordered removed without hearing pursuant to § 1225(b)(1)(A)® because she did not possess proper entry and travel documents. She tried again on February 25, 2001. This third time, she presented photo-altered travel documents. She was caught, taken into custody, and on March 2, 2001, she appeared before an IJ and admitted inadmissibility as charged.

Then, on March 28, 2001, she married the father of the youngest two of her three United States citizen children. He was a legal permanent resident, and he submitted an alien relative…