Vejar

MEMORANDUM *

Fanny Pineda Vejar is a native and citizen of Mexico. She has lived in the United States for over twenty years. During this time she applied for legalization under 8 U.S.C. § 1255a, an amnesty program for long-time residents created by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”). While her legalization application was pending 1 she went to Mexico for a week to visit her sick aunt. Upon return she was detained because she did not have documentation to enter the United States. She had only her employment authorization card and a consular enrollment card issued by the Mexican government. She was charged as excludable for seeking work without certification and for entering the United States without appropriate documentation. After a hearing, an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) ruled Pineda Vejar was excludable from the United States because the IJ believed Pineda Vejar’s trip to Mexico required advance parole. The IJ found that she was “entering” ( 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(13) (1994)) the United States and therefore was excludable. The IJ further determined Pineda Vejar did not qualify for the exception to the consequences of “entry” for brief, casual, and innocent trips…