Judulang v. Holder

Two federal statutes addressed noncitizens' rights to be in the United States: one governed initial entry and exclusion, the other governed deportation of resident aliens, and each listed different disqualifying crimes. Only the exclusion statute expressly let the Attorney General (defendant, then Eric Holder) grant discretionary relief from removal to someone convicted of a listed crime. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) nonetheless borrowed the exclusion statute's list of crimes to decide who qualified for discretionary relief from deportation too. Joel Judulang (plaintiff), a resident alien, was ordered deported after two convictions listed in the deportation statute; because those offenses weren't on the exclusion statute's list, the BIA's rule denied him discretionary relief. The Ninth Circuit upheld the BIA's approach, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a circuit split.