554 F.2d 944 (9th Cir. 1977), 76-1546, Cordon De Ruano v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

• Docket Nº: 76-1546.
• Citation: 554 F.2d 944
• Party Name: Carmen CORDON de RUANO, Petitioner, v. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent.
• Case Date: May 26, 1977
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Page 944

554 F.2d 944 (9th Cir. 1977)

Carmen CORDON de RUANO, Petitioner,

v.

IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent.

No. 76-1546.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

May 26, 1977

Page 945

Gary Silbiger, Los Angeles, Cal., argued for petitioner.

William D. Keller, U. S. Atty., Carolyn M. Reynolds, Asst. U. S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., argued for respondent.

On Petition to Review a Decision of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Before CHAMBERS and WALLACE, Circuit Judges, and CRARY, ^[*] District Judge.

CHAMBERS, Circuit Judge:

Carmen Cordon de Ruano petitions for review of a decision of an Immigration Judge, affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), that she is deportable under § 241(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(2), for overstaying a temporary entry as a nonimmigrant visitor. We affirm.

On April 29, 1975, two INS officers appeared at petitioner's door seeking her husband, a subject of pending deportation proceedings. They identified themselves and petitioner asked them into the house. While in the house, the officers asked petitioner questions relating to her nationality and immigration status, and she produced a passport. The officers then requested petitioner to "go with them," but abandoned this request when they learned her child was sick. At no time did petitioner ask the officers to leave.

On June 18, 1975, the District Director issued an Order to Show Cause charging that petitioner was deportable for having overstayed a temporary admission as a nonimmigrant visitor. At the subsequent hearing, petitioner initially refused to answer any questions on the ground that her answers might incriminate her. The Immigration Judge overruled many of the Fifth Amendment objections, but petitioner, on the advice of counsel, refused to respond. The government then introduced a passport issued by the Guatemalan Government on October 19, 1966 in the name of Carmen Cordon de Oliva, petitioner's former married name. The original Order to Show Cause had been issued in that name, and petitioner stipulated at the hearing that the Order related to her. In addition, the passport contained a photograph which the Immigration Judge found to be "a good likeness" of petitioner. The passport which was admitted into evidence over petitioner's objections, indicated that the bearer had entered the United States on December 13, 1970 as a nonimmigrant visitor. It also indicated that Cordon de Oliva was a native and citizen of Guatemala.

Petitioner then attempted to establish that the passport had been seized illegally and therefore should be excluded...