Francisco Juarez-Ramos v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General

I

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and an immigration judge (IJ) held that an expedited removal order in 1999 interrupted Francisco Juarez-Ramos’s physical presence in the United States. Thus, they held that Juarez-Ramos could not establish the required ten years of physical presence necessary to be eligible for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(l). In his petition for review, Juarez-Ramos argues that an expedited removal order should not interrupt an alien’s continuous physical presence because so little process is involved in issuing such orders. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(B) and hold that an expedited removal order does interrupt continuous physical presence. Thus, we deny the petition.

II

Juarez-Ramos is a native and citizen of Mexico. He was found in this country and placed in removal proceedings on January 27, 2003. Asserting that he had been continuously physically present in the United States for ten years, having arrived in early January 1993, he sought cancellation of removal. The IJ concluded that such relief was unavailable to Juarez-Ramos because two events interrupted the ten-year period: a voluntary departure in…