Ninth Circuit Can Review Immigration Case, Widening Court Divide

The Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday that it has jurisdiction to review a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals, but ultimately agreed with the board’s choice to uphold the removal of an undocumented Mexican immigrant.

Judge Milan D. Smith, writing for a three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, said recent US Supreme Court precedent means the Ninth Circuit can review the BIA’s determination that Lucila Magana-Magana can’t reopen her removal proceedings.

That widens a divide among federal appeals courts, with the Third and Seventh Circuit finding that they don’t have jurisdiction, while the Fifth ...