Supreme Court Agrees to Review Deadline for Deportation Appeals

The US Supreme Court will consider if federal appeals courts can review appeals from non-citizens claiming they’ll be killed or tortured if deported that are filed more than 30 days after a removal order is issued.

In an order on Monday, the justices agreed to hear an appeal from Pierre Riley, a Jamaican native who’s lived in New York for nearly 30 years and says he’s likely to be killed by someone who’s murdered several members of his family if he returns to Jamaica.

An immigration judge found Riley’s claims credible and ruled his removal should be deferred under the Convention Against Torture protections, but the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed that ruling after the government appealed. The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed his case.

The Fourth Circuit said it didn’t have jurisdiction to hear Riley’s appeal because his petition was filed more than 30 days after his prior removal order was reinstated.

Riley argues he filed his case within 30 days of the board of immigration decision, which came 16 months after the initial removal order.

He said the appeals court was wrong to hold the 30-day deadline is both jurisdictional and begins as soon as the immigration officer ordered him removed.

The case is Riley v. Garland, U.S., No. 23-1270, grant 11/4/24.