PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ Nos. 10-1875/2400 _____________ JUNIOR NATHANIEL RICKETTS a/k/a Junior Mohammed Ricketts a/k/a Paul Milton Miles, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent On Petition for Review of an Order of the United States Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA 1:A027-024-434) Immigration Judge: Hon. Walter A. Durling _______________ Argued February 6, 2020 Before: JORDAN, GREENAWAY, JR., and FISHER, Circuit Judges (Filed: April 8, 2020) _______________ Noah M. Weiss [ARGUED] Williams & Connolly 725 12th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Counsel for Petitioner John M. McAdams, Jr. Benjamin M. Moss [ARGUED] Erik R. Quick United States Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation P.O. Box 878 Ben Franklin Station Washington, DC 20044 _______________ OPINION OF THE COURT _______________ JORDAN, Circuit Judge. Junior Ricketts petitions for review of two decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), denials of a motion to reopen and a motion to reconsider. He has told various adjudicatory bodies for nearly 30 years that he is an American citizen. Last year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court finding that he is not. Since his citizenship claim is the only basis on which he says he is entitled to relief from the order of removal, 2 and since he cannot now rely on that claim, we will deny the petition for review. I. Background Ricketts, whom the government has always maintained is a citizen of Jamaica, has been convicted of several felonies; hence his immigration difficulties. On December 17, 1992, he was charged, among other crimes, with embezzlement and transporting a minor in interstate or foreign commerce with the intent to engage in sexual activity. He pled guilty to all charges and, as an additional consequence of his criminal convictions, was deemed subject to removal. In proceedings before an Immigration Judge (“IJ”), however, Ricketts argued that he was actually a U.S. citizen. The IJ rejected that claim, and the BIA dismissed his appeal. He petitioned our court for review and, at the same time, sought a stay of removal. While the petition and the motion for a stay were pending, Ricketts was removed to Jamaica, and his petition and motion were “procedurally terminated without judicial action.” Clerk Order, Ricketts v. Attorney General, No. 00-3270 (3d Cir. Jul. 31, 2000). Continuing to insist that he is an American, Ricketts persuaded the Jamaican Constabulary Force to investigate his citizenship status. Officials there agreed with him and, accordingly, he was sent back to the United States in February 2003, approximately three years after he was removed. In 2005, while Ricketts was in state custody for a criminal theft conviction, the Department of Homeland Security learned of his return and reinstated his order of 3 removal. Four years later, he received a copy of the Jamaican report stating that he is an American citizen and not a Jamaican citizen. With that evidence in hand, he filed with the BIA motions to ...
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