Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) applauds today's Supreme Court decision in Mata v. Lynch, which maintained important legal protections for immigrants facing deportation due to ineffective assistance of counsel. The Supreme Court’s decision was 8-1, and even Justice Thomas, in dissent, was in agreement that the lower court erred in its handling of the case.
Noel Reyes Mata, a longtime undocumented individual with substantial ties to the United States, was ordered removed by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). He argues that he was ordered deported due to poor lawyering by his previous counsel, but his arguments did not convince the BIA. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit – the federal appeals court which reviews removal proceedings arising in Texas – found that it lacked jurisdiction over his appeal of the BIA decision. The Supreme Court reversed, finding that the lower court was wrong in finding that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Mata is narrow, but solid,” said Chuck Roth, NIJC director of litigation. “It doesn’t break much new ground, but it does protect the right of noncitizens to judicial review and it corrects a deeply flawed decision which prevented Mr. Mata from getting a fair day in court.”
NIJC filed an amicus brief in Mata, arguing that the Court of Appeals was wrong when it found that it lacked jurisdiction, and explaining the importance of judicial review over this aspect of removal proceedings.