Shehu: Asylum-Only Denials Are Appealable To Third Circuit

In Shehu v. Gonzales, No. 05-5072, (3d Cir. April 9, 2007), the Third Circuit ruled in a precedential case that someone who loses an asylum-only case can appeal it to the Third Circuit. This is consistent with how the Second Circuit and Eleventh Circuit have ruled.

The only concern is that Congress said final orders of removal can be appealed, but did not specifically address when someone who entered on the visa waiver program seeks asylum. Those people who entered on that program can only seek asylum but not otherwise challenge removal. So they are given asylum-only proceedings. The Third Circuit ruled that asylum-only proceedings are similar enough to removal cases that the decisions can be appealed to the Third Circuit. (Too bad the merits of the case were not good enough for the person in this appeal to succeed.)