Executive Office for Immigration Review (DOJ EOIR); Department of Homeland Security
Aaron Gbotoe
14,147.00
Court
Null
Immigration habeas corpus petition claiming that petitioner’s removal from the United States prior to the Board of Immigration Appeals’ adjudication of his motion to reopen was a statutory and constitutional violation.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) had summarily denied Petitioner’s motion to stay his removal. The District Court granted Gbotoe’s fee petition in part, finding that the Government’s position was not substantially justified because the BIA’s denial of the stay motion was not reasonable. The Court acknowledged that the Immigration Judge’s position and the government's litigating position were reasonable, and specifically noted that “the jurisdictional issue implicated by Gbotoe’s petition was (and remains) far from settled,” but based his finding of no substantial justification entirely on the BIA’s denial of the stay motion. Fee award paid jointly by DOJ and DHS (50% each).