Case: 16-30470 Document: 00515452173 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/15/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 16-30470 June 15, 2020 Lyle W. Cayce IVAN ALEXANDROVICH VETCHER, Clerk Petitioner - Appellant v. WILLIAM P. BARR, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL; CHAD F. WOLF, ACTING SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; GEORGE H. LUND, Director of New Orleans Field Office; DAVID COLE, Warden, LaSalle Detention Center, Respondents - Appellees Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 1:15-CV-1653 Before KING, SOUTHWICK, and HO, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Ivan Vetcher was placed in immigration detention in July 2014. In the midst of his multiple administrative appeals and petitions for review, he filed a petition for habeas corpus seeking release from custody during the time that his removal proceedings were continuing. His relief denied, Vetcher appealed * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 16-30470 Document: 00515452173 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/15/2020 No. 16-30470 here. Much has happened since that initial appeal, but it is clear his claims are now moot. We DISMISS. Vetcher left Belarus in 2001 and entered the United States as an 11-year-old refugee. In 2005, he became a lawful permanent resident. In April 2014, he pled guilty to delivery of more than four but less than four-hundred grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms, a violation of Section 481.113(d) of the Texas Health & Safety Code. He received a ten-year suspended sentence. Three months after the Texas judgment of conviction was entered, the Government issued Vetcher a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge, stating Vetcher was removable as an alien “convicted of an aggravated felony,” a term that includes “illicit trafficking in a controlled substance.” 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(a)(43)(B), 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). 1 The Government detained him under the authority of a statute to “take into custody any alien who . . . is deportable” under the aggravated felon provision the Government applied to Vetcher. § 1226(c). The immigration judge ordered his removal. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) agreed and issued a final administrative order to remove Vetcher to Belarus on December 22, 2014. Seven months later, the BIA granted Vetcher’s motion to reopen and the case was remanded for additional proceedings. His detention, though, continued. Vetcher has appeared several times in this court following new BIA decisions. See Vetcher v. Lynch, No. 15-60047 (5th Cir. Sept. 9, 2015); Vetcher v. Sessions, No. 17-60215 (5th Cir. May 26, 2017). Vetcher’s most recent petition for review sought cancellation of the BIA’s final order of removal on May 11, 2018. On March 19, 2020, this court denied Vetcher’s petition for 1 The Government changed its theory of Vetcher’s deportability in September 2015 and no longer charges him under Section 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii); the charge is now under Section 1227(a)(2)(B)(i). 2 Case: ...
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