S CT Decides Nijhawan v. Holder: A Rare Immigration Victory This Term for the Government

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Brreyer, affirmed the Third Circuit’s decision in Nijhawan v. Holder.

For background on the case, see SCOTUS Blog.   The Petitioner, an immigrant from India, was convicted of conspiring to commit mail fraud and related crimes. Because the relevant statutes did not require a finding of loss, the jury made no such finding. However, at sentencing, petitioner stipulated that the loss exceeded $100 million. He was sentenced to prison and required to make $683 million in restitution. The Government subsequently sought to remove him from the United States, claiming that he had been convicted of an “aggravated felony.” The Immigration Judge found that petitioner’s conviction fell within the “aggravated felony” definition. The Board of ImmigrationAppeals agreed, as did the Third Circuit, which held that the Immi-gration Judge could inquire into the underlying facts of a prior fraud conviction for purposes of determining whether the loss to the victims exceeded $10,000.  The Supreme Court affirmed.

This is the first immigration case that the government has won this Term, having lost three in a row.

KJ