Ponta-Garca v. Ashcroft

The petitioner, Ponta-Garca, a Portugese national, seeks review of an order reinstating an earlier order of deportation because of his allegedly illegal re-entry into this country. The respondent, the Attorney General, has moved to dismiss, contending that jurisdiction is lacking because the petition for review was not timely filed. We agree. Thus, we are constrained to grant the motion to dismiss. The petitioner was ordered deported in 1987 after overstaying his authorized period of visitation. For reasons that are unexplained in the record, that order was never executed. Seventeen years later, on May 24, 2004, he was apprehended by agents of the respondent and served with a one-page document (Form I-871) entitled ""Notice of Intent/Decision to Reinstate Prior Order."" This document relied on a revised statutory provision that took effect in 1997. The statute provides in part as follows: