GOMEZ-GOMEZ

Citations

• 23 I. & N. Dec. 522

Syllabus

GOMEZ-GOMEZ, 23 I&N Dec. 522 (BIA 2002) ID 3483 (PDF) (1) The Immigration and Naturalization Service met its burden, in an in absentia removal proceeding, of establishing a minor respondent’s removability by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence, where (1) a Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien (Form I-213) was submitted, documenting the respondent’s identity and alienage (2) the respondent, who failed without good cause to appear at her removal hearing, made no challenge to the admissibility of the Form I-213 (3) there were no grounds for a finding that the admission of the Form I-213 would be fundamentally unfair and (4) no independent evidence in the record supported the Immigration Judge’s conclusion that the respondent may not have been the child of the adult who claimed to be the respondent’s parent and who furnished the information regarding her foreign citizenship. Matter of Ponce-Hernandez, 22 I&N Dec. 784 (BIA 1999), followed. (2) The respondent, a minor who could not be expected to attend immigration proceedings on her own, was properly notified of her hearing, through proper mailing of a Notice to Appear (Form I-862) to the last address provided by her parent, with whom she was residing.