October 11, 1996 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
No. 96-1314
EAN ANTHONY INNIS, a/k/a ANTHONY ROME,
a/k/a EAN ANTHONY INNIS,
Petitioner,
v.
IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE,
Respondent.
ERRATA SHEET
The opinion of this Court issued on September 24, 1996 is
amended as follows:
On page 2, line 7, change "here" to "hear"
October 4, 1996 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
No. 96-1314
EAN ANTHONY INNIS, a/k/a ANTHONY ROME,
a/k/a EAN ANTHONY INNIS,
Petitioner,
v.
IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE,
Respondent.
ON PETITION FOR REVIEW OF AN ORDER
OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS
Before
Torruella, Chief Judge,
Cyr and Stahl, Circuit Judges.
Ean Anthony Innis on brief pro se.
Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General, Brenda E. Ellison,
Senior Litigation Counsel, Office of Immigration Litigation, and
Ernesto H. Molina, Jr., Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation.
Per Curiam. After careful review of the record and the
petition for review, we find no reason to reverse the
decision of the BIA. Accordingly, we affirm, essentially for
the reasons stated in that decision, adding only the
following comments.
1. We assume, without deciding, that we have
jurisdiction to hear this petition. See Anti-Terrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act, Public Law No. 104-132, 440(a)
(to be codified at 8 U.S.C. 1105(a)(10)).
2. The BIA considered all the evidence, made specific
findings as to both the positive and negative factors, and
explained how it reached the decision that petitioner's
outstanding equities (long residence, family ties, and
rehabilitation efforts) were outweighed by his extensive
criminal history. The grant or denial of a waiver of
deportation remains a matter of BIA discretion, and this
court will not "second-guess the Board on the manner in which
it weights different factors when arriving at its ultimate
decision." See Gouveia v. INS, 980 F.2d 814, 819 (1st Cir.
1992).
3. Petitioner argues in essence that he was "merely a
minor drug peddlar" and not a "drug trafficker," and so he
should not have been required to show outstanding equities.
See Elramly v. INS, 73 F.3d 220, 223 (9th Cir. 1995), cert.
granted, 116 S.Ct. 1260 (1996). To the contrary, the BIA
-2-
decision shows it considered petitioner's extensive criminal
history in detail in determining that a showing of
outstanding equities was required.
4. There is no record support for petitioner's
assertion that he was not notified at that time of his drug
sentencing about any immigration consequences that he might
face. In any event, petitioner conceded the grounds for
deportation before the immigration judge, and he may not
challenge the validity of his drug conviction during
immigration proceedings. See Gouveia, 980 F.2d at 817.
5. Finally, we reject petitioner's argument that
deportation, a civil proceeding, is cruel and unusual
punishment. See Hernandez-Rivera v. INS, 630 F.2d 1352, 1356
(9th Cir. 1980).
There being no substantial question for review, we
summarily affirm the decision of the BIA and deny and dismiss
the petition for review. See 1st Cir. Loc. R. 27.1.
-3-