Daniel Salvador Hernandez-Guadarrama v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Daniel Salvador Hernandez-Guadarrama ("Hernandez"), a native and citizen of Mexico and a conditional permanent resident of the United States, petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). The BIA affirmed an immigration judge's ("IJ") order finding him removable from the United States for alien smuggling under Section 237(a)(1)(E)(i) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(1)(E)(i). We have jurisdiction over his petition pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and conclude that the government failed to establish removability by "clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence." Woodby v. INS, 385 U.S. 276, 286 , 87 S.Ct. 483 , 17 L.Ed.2d 362 (1966).

I.

Hernandez is married to a United States citizen and has been a conditional permanent resident since November 17, 1997. On January 25, 1999, Hernandez and his wife were driving back to their home in Sunnyside, Washington after a visit to his mother in Mexico. While crossing Idaho via 1-84, the primary route linking the northwestern cities of Salt Lake City, Boise, and Portland, they were stopped by INS Agents Jackson and Sanford, who were conducting anti-smuggling “traffic…