Honduran man fleeing gang violence secures remand in Ninth Circuit

Client(s) Fuentes, Victor

On behalf of Victor Fuentes, a Honduran native fleeing gang violence, Jones Day successfully challenged an immigration judge's removal order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The immigration judge denied relief from removal, claiming Fuentes had failed to articulate a reasonable fear of persecution or torture in Honduras. In doing so, the immigration judge deemed Fuentes competent to participate in immigration proceedings despite significant indicia of mental incompetency. The Ninth Circuit, over a dissent, sided with Jones Day's position that the immigration judge failed to properly assess Fuentes’s mental competency per agency standards. The court remanded the case for a competency hearing and further proceedings before the immigration judge.

Victor Fuentes v. Merrick Garland, No. 22-1437 (9th Cir.)