Landon v. Plasencia case brief

Landon v. Plasencia case brief summary
459 U.S. 21 (1982)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Respondent, a permanent resident alien, appealed a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which held that the question of whether respondent was attempting to "enter" the United States could be litigated only in a deportation hearing and not in an exclusion hearing.

CASE FACTS
Respondent, a permanent resident alien, traveled to Mexico and made arrangements to assist some aliens in illegally entering the U.S. Respondent was detained at the border when six nonresident aliens were found in her car. Following an exclusion hearing, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) denied respondent admission to the U.S.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• The court of appeals vacated the decision, holding that the question of whether respondent was attempting to "enter" the U.S. could be litigated only in a deportation hearing and not in an exclusion hearing. 
• Respondent appealed. 

DISCUSSION

• The court found that the language and history of the Immigration and Nationality Act clearly stated the intent that, whether or not an alien was a permanent resident, admissibility should have been determined in an exclusion hearing. 
• The determinations of both "entry" and the existence of grounds for exclusion could have been made at an exclusion hearing. 
• Therefore, the INS had statutory authority to proceed in an exclusion hearing. 
• The court found that the factors relevant to due process analysis were not adequately presented, and it remanded to the court of appeals to decide if respondent was accorded due process.

CONCLUSION
The court reversed and remanded. The Immigration and Naturalization Service had statutory authority to determine whether respondent was attempting to "enter" the U.S. in an exclusion hearing. The factors relevant to due process were not presented to the court and this issue was remanded for further exploration by the court of appeals.

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