10th Circuit vacates Utah man's deportation order

10th Circuit vacates Utah man's deportation order

(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)


7 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

TAYLORSVILLE — After her son had been detained on immigration holds totaling two years, Nora Golicova had a hard time processing what her husband told her Tuesday.

"My husband said, 'Constantine's going to get released. Can you drive (to pick him up?)'"

Constantine Golicov's release from the Utah County Jail, which has a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house its detainees, marked the conclusion of a mandatory detention while he fought deportation.

Golicov, a legal permanent resident of the United States born in Moldova, was placed in deportation proceedings after he was convicted of failing to respond to an officer's signal to stop, a third-degree felony which carries a sentence of zero to five years. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and placed on probation, which was followed by a total of two years in jail on the civil immigration hold.

He was released shortly after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision published Monday, vacated his deportation order and found a portion of federal immigration statute on deportable offenses the government had relied upon to seek his deportation was "unconstitutionally vague," effectively halting its use in the circuit.

While the decision gave Golicov immediate relief, his attorney, Skyler Anderson, said the decision could play a role in other cases pending in the 10th Circuit that have relied on the same section of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

"Its significant because it’s taking away almost a good chunk of the grounds of removability," Anderson said.

Constantine Golicova has some fun with paralegal Susana Delacruz at immigration attorney Skyler Anderson's office in Taylorsville on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016. Golicov is from Moldova and spent time in jail while fighting deportation. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
Constantine Golicova has some fun with paralegal Susana Delacruz at immigration attorney Skyler Anderson's office in Taylorsville on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016. Golicov is from Moldova and spent time in jail while fighting deportation. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

While Golicov and his mother credit Anderson's determination and lawyering for the positive outcome, Anderson said it was more of a matter "that the stars kind of aligned on this one."

A recent Supreme Court decision and a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling guided the 10th Circuit with respect to the vagueness standard.

"In short, Jordan (the 9th Circuit case) 'recognized' that 'a necessary component of a noncitizen's right to due process of law is the prohibition on vague deportation statutes,'" the 10th Circuit ruling states.

"Thus, in sum, we agree with the 6th and 9th Circuits that 'because deportation strips a noncitizen of his rights, statutes that impose this penalty are subject to vagueness challenges under the Fifth Amendment.'"

The 10th Circuit joins courts in the 6th, 7th and 9th in similar rulings. However, a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upheld the government's position, which means the circuit split could ultimately be addressed by the Supreme Court.

Anderson said he is game to take on that challenge if that were to happen.

"I’d be happy to take it on, reluctantly happy. It would be a ton of work, but I wouldn’t shy away from it," he said.

In Golicov's case, the government relied on a section of immigration law that considered him "removable" due to his conviction of the state offense of failing to stop at a police officer's command, which immigration law considers a "crime of violence."

An immigration judge initially dismissed the deportation order, but the ruling was appealed by attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security. The Board of Immigration Appeals reversed the immigration judge's decision, remanding the case to the immigration court. Both the immigration court and the appeals board denied Golicov's appeal.

Ultimately, Anderson petitioned the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to review the case, which mainly focused on whether the Immigration and Nationality Act's definition of "crime of violence" is "unconstitutionally vague."

A section of the act "asks only whether a perpetrator's commission of a crime involves a substantial risk of force," against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense, the court wrote. The 10th Circuit decision deemed the section "unconstitutionally vague."

The difficulty of applying the section, Anderson said, is that it refers to a broad array of offenses, which range from homicide and rape to misdemeanor theft.

"All of them have the same consequences," with respect to deportation, Anderson said.

Golicov, who turned 30 while he was detained, said he is "older and wiser" for his experiences.

(Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

Golicov said he accepts responsibilities for his actions, but he believes people who emigrate into the United States should be made aware of the immigration consequences of criminal offenses.

He was 15 when he and his brother came to the United States to join their mother, who had moved from Moldova to Utah after one trip to visit longtime friends.

While Golicova said she would have rather not experienced her son's long hold in immigration detention, the experience deepened her Eastern Orthodox faith, which became a frequent topic of conversation between her and her son during his detention.

The Rev. Father Matthew Gilbert, longtime Greek Orthodox priest at Salt Lake's Holy Trinity Cathedral who recently passed away, counseled her to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others.

"That's what I shared with Constantine," she said.

Golicov said their visits strengthened his faith, too. He said is planning to first spend time with family, get a job and offer his first paycheck to "the church."

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Marjorie Cortez

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast