Blanche v. Lau · ¶55

For additional confirmation of the Government’s burden at the border, one need only look to the rest of §1101(a)(13)(C). Congress’s use of the present-perfect tense in five of the six exceptions (including the one at issue here) shows that the statute was written for use by border officers. It is the border officer, not the immigration judge, who is tasked with making the determination whether to classify a returning LPR as already admitted or as “seeking an admission.” The relevant statutory questions are directed to the border officer: whether the LPR before him “has abandoned or relinquished” his LPR status, “has been absent from the United States for a continuous period in excess of 180 days,” “has engaged in illegal activity after having departed the United States,” “has departed from the United States” pending removal proceedings, or, as relevant here, “has committed” a crime of…

slip opinion
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.