Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Abudu

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Abudu
Argued December 1, 1987
Decided March 1, 1988
Full case nameImmigration and Naturalization Service, Petitioner v. Assibi Abudu
Citations485 U.S. 94 (more)
108 S. Ct. 904; 99 L. Ed. 2d 90; 1988 U.S. LEXIS 1066; 56 U.S.L.W. 4195
Case history
PriorDenial of motion to reopen deportation proceedings affirmed by Board of Immigration Appeals. Judgment reversed by Ninth Circuit, 802 F.2d 1096 (9th Cir. 1986). Cert. granted, 480 U.S. 937 (1987).
Holding
Federal courts of appeals must review denials of motions to reopen immigration proceedings for abuse of discretion.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Case opinion
MajorityStevens, joined by unanimous
Kennedy took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
8 C.F.R. § 208.11

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Abudu, 485 U.S. 94 (1988), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court shifted the balance toward adjudications made by the INS and away from those made by the federal courts of appeals when aliens who had been ordered deported seek to present new evidence in order to avoid deportation. The Court ruled that courts must review the Board of Immigration Appeals's decision to deny motions to reopen immigration proceedingsthe name of the procedural device used to present new evidence to immigration officialsfor abuse of discretion.