Case: 17-60522 Document: 00514960515 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/16/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 17-60522 FILED May 16, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce RAUL TERRAZAS-HERNANDEZ, Clerk Petitioner v. WILLIAM P. BARR, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Before BARKSDALE, SOUTHWICK, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges. RHESA HAWKINS BARKSDALE, Circuit Judge: Raul Terrazas-Hernandez claims the Department of Homeland Security’s reinstatement in August 2012, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(5), of his prior (October 1993) removal order is an impermissibly retroactive application of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), amending the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101, et seq. IIRIRA is not impermissibly retroactive as applied to Terrazas. In addition, his claim his entry was lawful because he was allegedly waved through by officials at a border checkpoint is foreclosed by our precedent. DENIED. Case: 17-60522 Document: 00514960515 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/16/2019 No. 17-60522 I. Terrazas is a Mexican citizen. In general, the parties dispute when, and at what ages, Terrazas entered the United States illegally. It appears he did so approximately four times between 1985 and 1994, usually by falsely claiming American citizenship. (Because Terrazas has given conflicting testimony over the years regarding his various entries, the exact number is unclear.) In any event, prior to 1985, Terrazas’ father, on a date not found in the record, filed an I-130 visa petition on his son’s behalf. It was approved in 1984. Based on that approval, Terrazas presented himself at the United States consulate in Juarez, Mexico, in May 1992, seeking a visa to enter as the son of a lawful permanent resident (LPR). But, his misdemeanor marihuana conviction in June 1988 and arrest record apparently required the denial of his visa. Terrazas was arrested in Texas in 1993 and convicted of driving with a suspended license. Following that conviction, he was discovered by immigration officials during a jail check in Midland, Texas, and turned over to Border Patrol custody in April 1993. While in custody, he admitted to Border Patrol that he had entered the United States illegally with his girlfriend; and, because he had no documentation supporting his lawful presence in the United States, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) initiated deportation proceedings. Terrazas was ordered deported in October 1993 by an immigration judge (IJ). Although the IJ denied voluntary departure, concluding it would be “a fruitless effort”, Terrazas nevertheless voluntarily removed on the day he was ordered to be deported. He asserts he reentered the United States two days later. 2 Case: 17-60522 Document: 00514960515 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/16/2019 No. 17-60522 And, through counsel, he appealed the IJ’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), seeking suspension of deportation. The BIA denied his appeal and affirmed the deportation order because Terrazas had voluntarily removed in July 1989 “under threat of deportation”, thereby “br[eaking] the continuity of [his] physical ...
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