Cancellation of Removal appeal granted

Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) granted an appeal from an Immigration Judge's (IJ) decision denying cancellation of removal to native of Mexico and a Permanent Resident (PR) of the US based on prior convictions.  PR appealed to the BIA, BIA acknowledged that PR has had 3 criminal convictions in Illinois, one for unlawful possession of firearm, one for possession of cocaine and one for resisting arrest.  PR also had several arrests, which did not lead to a conviction. Moreover, BIA acknowledged that his work and tax history were not so great either. Nonetheless, his application for cancellation of removal is strongly supported by his connections to the US. BIA indicates that he came to the US as an infant and lived here almost his entire life, has been married to a US citizen for several years and has 4 US daughters, who he presently visits regularly and supports financially. Mother of the daughters and PR's soon to be ex-wife, testified very favorably for the PR. Furthermore, PR presently resides with his father who is also a permanent resident, and has 5 siblings, all of whom are US citizens.  All in all, BIA decided that PR's ties to this Country are substantial and decided to give him a final chance to stay in the US, thereby, reversing the IJ's decision.  Although, the BIA did point out that this will be his last chance, and if he gets into any more trouble with the law he will be deported.

As to my thoughts on this matter: I have to agree with the BIA. In this particular case, PR has very strong ties to the US and despite his criminal convictions, the hardships that will be suffered by his family here in the US who are US citizens, outweighs his less then perfect background. This is also a good example which shows that just because an IJ makes an unfavorable ruling, there is still hope.  There is always the process of appeal and the possibility of reversal of the IJ's decision.