ANSELMO

                                                           Interim Decision #3105




                        MATTER OF ANSELMO

                         In Deportation Proceedings

                                    A-27529931

                      Decided by Board May 11, 1989

(1) The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that the Equal
  Access to Justice Act ("EAJA") "covers deportation proceedings before the adminis-
  trative agency as well as court proceedings reviewing deportation decisions." Escobar
  Ruiz v. INS, 

 (9th Cir. 1988) (en banc).
(2) Although the Board of Immigration Appeals disagrees with the court's holding, the
  decision of the Ninth Circuit that the EAJA applies to deportation proceedings must
  be followed in deportation proceedings arising within the jurisdiction of the Ninth
  Circuit.
(3) The Department of Justice regulations implementing the EAJA should be applied to
  BAJA attorney fee requests filed in conjunction with deportation procccdings arising
  within the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit.
ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT:                            ON BEHALF OF SERVICE:
 Mark Vanderhout, Esquire                             David M. Dixon
 3689 18th Street                                    Appellate Counsel
 San Francisco, California 94110
  Karen Z. Bovarnick, Esquire
  345 Grove Street
  San Francisco, California 94102

BY: Milhollan, Chairman; Dunne and Heilman, Board Members. Concurring in part
     and dissenting in part: Morris and Vacca, Board Members.



   This matter arises as a result of deportation proceedings held within
the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit but solely concerns respondent's request for attorney fees and
costs pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 

(1982). For the reasons set forth below, the record will be returned to
the immigration judge to consider and decide the application for
attorney fees and costs_
   Although the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA") was initially
enacted in 1980, not until the Ninth Circuit's 1986 decision in Escobar
Ruiz v. INS, 

 (9th Cir. 1986) ("Escobar Ruiz 1"), was
                                          95
Interim Decision #3105

there any ruling that the EAJA applied to deportation proceedings.' In
that decision, the Ninth Circuit held that the EAJA "does apply to
immigration proceedings before the [immigration judges] and the
Elk" 

. Thereafter, in Escobar Ruiz v. INS, 

(9th Cir. 1987) ("Escobar Ruiz II"), the court denied the Govern-
ment's petition for rehearing, noting that the "conclusion that
subsection 504(a) of the EAJA applies to deportation hearings remains
unchanged." 

. The Ninth Circuit subsequently granted
rehearing en bans and in Escobar Ruiz v. INS, 

 (9th Cir.
1988) ("Escobar Ruiz III"), held that "the EAJA covers deportation
proceedings before the administrative agency as well as court proceed-
ings reviewing agency deportation decisions." 

. The
Government did not seek further review of Escobar Ruiz III.
    Subsequent to the Ninth Circuit's decision in Escobar Ruiz I,
various requests for attorney fees were submitted administratively,
principally in conjunction with deportation proceedings arising within
the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit. Among the requests was the
present application, which was filed seeking recovery of fees and costs
incurred in preparation of the opposition to an Immigration and
Naturalization Service appeal that was subsequently withdrawn by the
Service. The motion for fees and costs was filed both with the Office of
the Immigration Judge and this Board as respondent's counsel
understandably was "not absolutely certain which office has jurisdic-
tion."
    On July 11, 1988, the Board requested the Service and counsel for
the four respondents with EAJA fee requests then before the Board to
provide their positions on the "threshold procedural and jurisdiction
issues raised by these requests in view of the Ninth Circuit's decision
 ... and the absence of controlling regulations." The Government
submitted its position in August 1988 and respondents' counsel
submitted a consolidated brief to the Board in October 1988.
    The Service position is that the Ninth Circuit's decision in Escobar
Ruiz HI left its ruling on the applicability of the BAJA to deportation
proceedings in an "unappealable posture" because, the court having
denied attorney fees to the respondent, the Service technically

    We are not aware of any applications for such fees being submitted administratively
in conjunction with immigration proceedings prior to Escobar Ruiz I. In fact, there had
been no request for fees in Escobar Ruiz /under the provisions of 

 (1982).
Both the request before the court and the specific holding in Escobar Ruiz I concerned
an application for fees under 28 U.S.0 § 2412(d)(1982). Escobar Rutz I, supra, at 1296-
98. In Escobar Ruiz v. INS, 

 (9th Cir. 1987), however, the court stated that
it had decided that the EAJA, "codified at 

 (1982) and 

(1982), applies to immigration proceedings before the immigration judge and the
[Board]." 

.
                                          '76
                                                            Interim Decision #3105

prevailed in the matter. The Service further states that it is in the
"strongest disagreement" with the court's ruling; that it will not
comply with the ruling even in the Ninth Circuit; that "the Service has
adopted a posture of nonacquiescence to bring the matter before the
Supreme Court at the earliest possible moment"; that immigration
judges are "without authority to do anything unless specifically
authorized by statute or regulation"; and, that neither the law nor the
regulations grant immigration judges the authority "to consider the
award of attorney's fees under the EAJA." Respondents' counsel
strongly object to the Service position, which is characterized as
"anarchistic and [in] extra-legal disregard of the rule of law."
Respondents' counsel submit that stare decisis requires the Board to
follow Ninth Circuit precedent; that nonacquiescence should not be
permitted as certiorari was available to the Service and it chose not to
pursue it; and, in any event, that nonacquiescence is unconstitutional
as it "violates the separation of powers doctrine fundamental to our
form of government."
   We initially note that we agree with the substantive position of the
Service that deportation proceedings are not covered by the EAJA
because they are not "adversary adjudications" within the definition
of section 504(b)(1)(C) of that Act.
   The EAJA, by permitting the recovery of attorney fees from the
United States, constitutes a waiver of the Government's sovereign
immunity. As the Supreme Court has reiterated, "[i]n analyzing
whether Congress has waived the immunity of the United States, we
must construe waivers strictly in favor of the sovereign." Library of
Congress v. Shaw, 

 (1986); see also Ruckelshaus v.
Sierra Club, 

 (1983); McMahon v. United States,

 (1951). Under this rule, the courts have found that the
provisions of the EAJA must be construed strictly in favor of the
United States. Owens v. Brock, 

 (6th Cir. 1988);2
Adamson v. Bowen, 

 (10th Cir. 1988); Long Island
Radio Co. N.L.R.B., 

 (2d Cir. 1988); Campbell v.
United States, 

 (9th Cir. 1987).
   The EAJA in relevant part defines an "adversary adjudication" to
mean "an adjudication under section 554 of [title 5] in which the
position of the United States is represented by counsel or otherwise,
but excludes an adjudication for the purpose of establishing or fixing a
rate or for the purpose of granting or renewing a license." 

(b)(1)(C) (1982). Under its plain meaning, particularly if con-
strued strictly in favor of the Government, the phrase "an adjudication
 2 In Owens, the Sixth Circuit concludes that the "Escobar Ruiz court ignores this rule."
Owens v. 

.
Interim Decision #3105

under section 554 of [title 5]" would connote an adjudication subject
to the authority of or controlled by section 554 of title 5. And, in fact,
this language has been interpreted by the Department of Justice and,
most recently, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit to apply to adjudications required by statute to be conducted
under 

 (1982), rather than to proceedings "merely
conducted in a similar manner." Owens v. 

; see
also 

 (1988).
   Deportation proceedings are not subject to or controlled by section
554 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 

, 701-06
(1982) ("APA"). In fact, we find rather extraordinary the conclusion in
Escobar Ruiz HI, supra, that the treatment of the relationship between
the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Administrative Proce-
dure Act is "somewhat ambiguous" and that "Marcella [v. Bonds, 

 (1955),] did not hold that deportation proceedings are
excluded or exempted from section 554." Id. at 1025. This has been a
settled question of law for over 30 years. 3
   In 1950, the Supreme Court held that section 5 of the Administra-
tive Procedure Act (previously 

 (1946)) 4 applied to
deportation proceedings. Wong Yang Sung v. McGrath, 

(1950). This ruling, however, was shortly "negated by a specific
legislative exemption, apparently impelled by a finding by Congress
that application of APA [hearing] requirements to deportation hear-
ings would be too costly and cumbersome." 2 C. Gordon and H.
Rosenfield, Immigration Law and Procedure, § 5.7a, at 5-77 (rev. ed.
 1988) (footnotes omitted); see also Clardy v. Levi, 

 (9th
Cir. 1976). This legislative exemption was included in the Supplemen-
tal Appropriation Act of 1951, Pub. L. No. 843, 1950 U.S. Code Cong.
& Ad. News (

) 1038, 1042, and provided that
"[p]roceedings under law relating to the exclusion or expulsion of
aliens shall hereafter be without regard to the provisions of sections 5,
7, and 8 of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 1004, 1006,
 1007)."
   When the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 was enacted,
Congress prescribed specific procedures for deportation hearings and
directed that they be the "sole and exclusive" procedures for determin-
ing the deportability of aliens. See section 242(b) of the Act, 8 U.S.C.

  3 We note that Shaughnessy v. Pedreiro, 

 (1955), and Wong Wing Hang v.
INS, 

 (2d Cir. 1966), which are cited in Escobar Ruiz III, are not
relevant to the issue of whether deportation proceedings are exempt from the hearing
procedures of the APA. Both cases involved section 10 of the APA of 1946, which
concerned judicial review of agency action.
  4 

 (1982) derives from 

 (originally enacted as Act of
June 11, 1946, ch. 324, § 5, 

).
                                                             Interim Decision #3105

§ 1252(b) (1982). It was with this background that the Supreme Court
ruled in Marcella
       Section 242(b) expressly states: "The procedure [herein prescribed] shall be the
   sole and exclusive procedure for determining the deportability of an alien under this
   section." That this clear and categorical direction was meant to exclude the
   application of the Administrative Procedure Act is amply demonstrated by the
   legislative history of the Immigration Act.
and
       Exemptions from the terms of the Administrative Procedure Act are not lightly to
   be presumed in view of the statement in § 12 of the Act that modifications must be
   express, el Shaughnessy v. Pedreiro, [

, 

, 

]. But
   we cannot ignore the background of the 1952 immigration legislation, its laborious
   adaptation of the Administrative Procedure Act to the deportation process, the
   specific points at which deviations from the Administrative Procedure Act were
   made, the recognition in the legislative history of this adaptive technique and of the
   particular deviations, and the direction in the statute that the methods therein
   prescribed shall be the sole and exclusive procedure for deportation proceedings.
   Unless we are to require the Congress to employ magical passwords in order to
   effectuate an exemption from the Administrative Procedure Act, we must hold that
   the present statute expressly supersedes the hearing provisions of that Act.
Marcell v. 

.
   There would appear to be nothing ambiguous about this language.
In fact, until Escobar Ruiz III, the only subsequent issue in this regard
was whether the Board is subject to the hearing procedures of the APA.
The two circuits to specifically address this issue held that the Board
"is also exempt from APA requirements." Giambanco v. INS, 

 (3d Cir. 1976) (emphasis added); see also Ho Chong Tsao v.
INS, 

 (5th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 

(1977); Cisternas-Estay v. INS, 

 (3d Cir.), cert.
denied, 

 (1976).
   Thus, because deportation proceedings are not adjudications "un-
der section 554 of [title 5]," we agree with the position of the Service
that the EAJA does not apply to these proceedings. 5 Even more
fundamentally in this regard, however, we note that the Board and
immigration judges (except as to the specific authority provided by
statute) only have such authority as is created and delegated by the
  5 Immigration proceedings involve distinct policy considerations. The vast majority of
these proceedings involve individuals who are neither citizens nor lawful permanent
residents of the United States. Congress' balancing of the relationship between hearing
rights and governmental costs is evidenced by section 292 of the Act, 

(1982), which provides:
  In any exclusion or deportation proceedings before a special inquiry officer and in any
  appeal proceedings before the Attorney General from any such exclusion or
  deportation proceedings, the person concerned shall have the privilege of being
  represented (at no expense to the Government) by such counsel, authorized to practice
  in such proceedings, as he shall choose. (Emphasis added.)

                                           29
Interim Decision #3105

Attorney General.6 See section 103 of the Act, 

 (1982);

, 509, 510 (1982); Matter of Medina, 

 (BIA 1988). Under section 103(a) of the Act, the Attorney General
has the authority to issue regulations, and his determinations with
respect to all questions of law are controlling. A regulation promulgat-
ed by the Attorney General has the force and effect of law as to this
Board and immigration judges, and neither has any authority to
consider challenges to regulations implemented by the Attorney
General, any more than there is authority to consider constitutional
challenges to the laws we administer. See sections 103(a), 236(a),
242(b) of the Act, 

(a), 1226(a), 1252(b) (1982); 

 (1988); 28 C.F.R. Part 24 (1988); Matter of Valdovinos,

 (BIA 1982); Matter of Bilbao-Bastida, 

 (BIA 1966), aff'd, Bilbao-Bastida v. INS, 

 (9th Cir.),
cert. dismissed, 

 (1969); Matter of Tzimas, 

 (BIA 1962).
   The Attorney General has determined that immigration proceedings
do not come within the scope of the RAJA. gee 

(1988); see also 

, 48,922 (1981) (interim rule with
request for public comment).' Neither this Board nor an immigration
judge has authority to consider a challenge to the Attorney General's
determination in this regard. Thus, under existing law, absent a
regulatory change or controlling court order, neither the Board nor an
immigration judge has authority to consider an application for
attorney fees under the provisions of the EAJA. 8
   The federal courts of course are under no such restraints. We are
now faced with the en bane rulings by the Ninth Circuit in Escobar
  6 Even the specific grants of statutory authority to immigration judges in the Act (i.e.,
to conduct exclusion and deportation proceedings) are subject to limitations. For
example, exclusion proceedings must be conducted in accordance with sections 235,
236, and 287(b) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. ft§ 1225, 1226. and 1357(b) (1982), and "such
regulations as the Attorney General shall prescribe." Section 236 of the Act. In
deportation proceedings, the immigration judge may only make determinations "as
authorized by the Attorney General" and the proceedings themselves must "be in
accordance with snob regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, as the Attorney General
shall prescribe." Section 242(b) of the Act.
  7 The supplemental information published with the 1981 interim rule made clear that
the omission of deportation and exclusion proceedings from the rule was intentional.
None of the three public comments, including the extensive comments from the
Administrative Conference of the United States, addressed this specific aspect of the
interim rule. See 

 (1982) (Supplementary Information).
  8 By separate decisions entered on May 12, 1989, we find for this reason that, absent
regulatory change or court order, neither immigration judges nor the Board have
authority either to find that the BAJA applies to any immigration proceedings outside
the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit or that the RAJA applies to other than deportation
proceedings (i.e., exclusion or rescission proceedings) arising within the Ninth Circuit.

                                            30
                                                             Interim Decision #3105
 •
Ruiz III, both that EAJA covers deportation proceedings before the
immigration judges and the Board and that the Justice Department
regulations are "misguided," "inconsistent with congressional intent,"
and based on a "mistaken" belief that deportation hearings are exempt
from the requirements of the APA. The Service states that it has
adopted a "posture of nonacquiescence" with the decision in Escobar
Ruiz III within the Ninth Circuit. However, as noted by respondents'
counsel, the Board has not followed a practice of nonacquiescence in
decisions of a circuit court in cases arising within the jurisdiction of
that circuit. We are not required to accept an adverse determination by
one circuit court of appeals as binding throughout the United States.
State of Ga. Dep't of Medical Assist. v. Bowen, 

 (11th
Cir. 1988); Ry. Labor Executives' Ass'n v. I.C.C., 

(9th Cir. 1986); Generali v. D'Amico, 

 (11th Cir.
1985). Where we disagree with a court's position on a given issue, we
decline to follow it outside the court's circuit. But, we have historically
followed a court's precedent in cases arising in that circuit. Matter of
Torres, 

 (BIA 1986); Matter of Herrera, 

 (BIA 1981); Matter of Patel, 

 (BIA 1980); Matter of
Bonnette, 

 (BIA 1980); Matter of Bowe, 

 (BIA 1980, 1981); Matter of Kondo, 

 (BIA 1980);
Mauer of Cienfuegos, 

 (BIA 1979); Matter of Anwo,

 (BIA 1977); Matter of Gonzalez, 

(BIA 1977); see also Matter of Amado and Montiero, 

(BIA 1969).
   The only instance in which we declined to follow a circuit court's
precedent in a subsequent case within the circuit arose in an unusual
factual setting. In Matter of Mangabat, 

 (BIA 1972),
aird, 

 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 

 (1973), the
Ninth Circuit position the Board declined to apply represented a
minority position among the circuits; the position had been challenged
by the Solicitor General in a petition for certiorari; the Supreme Court
had granted the petition for certiorari; but, the case in which certiorari
had been granted was terminated "inconclusively" when the alien left
the United States during the appeal process. The Board stated:
  In declining to apply the cited Ninth Circuit decisions in this and other cases
  reviewable in that circuit, we mean no disrespect for that court. Since the issues have
  already been crystallized, briefed and defined in the cited cases, our action now
  should pave the way for prompt decision in that court and prompt review in the
  Supreme Court. The construction of section 241(f) which we here apply is one which
  the Attorney General has approved, and his decision is binding on us. The Ninth
  Circuit's view represents a minority position among the circuits. The Solicitor
  General's challenge to it in petitioning for certiorari in Males [v. INS, 

  (9th Cir. 1971),] negates any notion of administrative acquiescence. The Supreme
  Court's action in granting certiorari indicates that a substantial question is presented.

                                           31
Interim Decision #3105

Matter of 

. That Mangabat represented an
unusual situation tied to its particular facts was made clear by the
Board in Matter of Bowe, supra, and Matter of Gonzalez, supra. The
fact that the Service disagrees with the Ninth Circuit's holding does
not leave the Board or immigration judges free to decline to apply that
precedent to cases arising within the circuit. See Lopez v. Heckler, 

 (9th Cir. 1984) (concerning an "announced" policy of
nonacquiescence by the Secretary of Health and Human Services). On
the record before us, we find that the decision of the Ninth Circuit that
the EAJA does apply to deportation proceedings must be followed in
deportation cases arising within the Ninth Circuit.
  The remaining question is what procedures should be followed in
considering fee requests in deportation cases arising within the Ninth
Circuit in order to comply with the court's holding. The Service has
presented no position on this issue, other than stating that immigra-
tion judges have no authority to consider such requests. Respondents'
counsel submit that fee motions under the EAJA should follow existing
procedures in 8 C.F.R. Part 3 (1988) regarding the exercise of
jurisdiction over deportation and related matters and that fee motions
should follow the procedures of the "model rules" for the implementa-
tion of the EAJA in agency proceedings (1 C.F.R. Part 315 (1988)).
   In our view, the most appropriate and practical resolution of this
issue, particularly in view of the Ninth Circuit's finding that the
Department of Justice regulations are "inconsistent with congressional
intent," is to read the court's order as including deportation cases
within the scope of the existing Department of Justice EAJA regula-
tions. Accordingly, we find that the procedures of 28 C.F.R. Part 24
(1988) should be applied to EAJA fee requests filed in conjunction
with deportation proceedings arising in the Ninth Circuit. These are
the regulations that apply to all other EAJA fee requests before the
Department and the regulations that will apply if the position of the
Ninth Circuit is ultimately given nationwide effect through depart-
mental, judicial, or congressional action.
  The Department regulations provide that filings and service of
documents shall be made -in the same manner as other pleadings in
the proceedings," that the determination will be made by the official
who presided at the adversary adjudication, and that the decision of
the adjudicative officer will be reviewed to the extent permitted by law
by the Department in accordance with the Department's procedures
for the type of proceedings involved. 

, 24.306,
24.307 (1988).
   Under the provisions of 8 C.F.R. Part 3 (1988) and 28 C.F.R. Part
24 (1988), we find that the fee application in this case should be
considered by the immigration judge. As the Service withdrew its

                                   32
                                                  Interim Decision #3105

appeal on the merits in this case, the initial decision of the immigra-
tion judge is "final to the same extent as though no appeal had been
taken." 

 (1988). Any further substantive motion in this
case would be within the jurisdiction of the immigration judge to
consider. See 

, 242.22 (1988); Matter of Mladineo, 

 (BIA 1974). Accordingly, considering the provisions of

 and 24.306 (1988), we find that the application is
properly filed with the Office of the Immigration Judge and that the
immigration judge is the "adjudicative officer" who should issue a
decision on the application. Therefore, the record in this case is
returned to the immigration judge for her decision whether the
application satisfies the requirements of law and regulations.
   ORDER: The record is returned to the Office of the Immigra-
tion Judge for consideration of and a decision on respondent's request
for attorney fees and costs.

CONCURRING IN PART AND DISSENTING IN PART:                      James P.
Morris, Board Member
   I concur in the decision of the majority except insofar as it finds
that immigration judges and the Board have authority to consider
requests for attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice
Act ("EAJA") resulting from deportation proceedings held within the
jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit. I respectfully dissent as to this latter aspect of the majority's
decision.
   As the majority properly finds, the Board and immigration judges
(except as to the specific authority provided by law), only have such
authority as is created and delegated by the Attorney General.
Regulations promulgated by the Attorney General have the force and
effect of law as to this Board and immigration judges. See sections
103(a), 236(a), 242(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

(a), 1226(a), 1252(b) (1982); 

 (1988); 28
C.F.R. Part 24 (1988); Matter of Medina, 

 (BIA
1988); Matter of Valdovinos, 

 (BIA 1982); Matter of
Bilbao-Bastida, 

 (BIA 1966), affd, Bilbao-Bastida v.
INS, 

 (9th Cir.), cert. dismissed, 

 (1969);
Matter of Tzimas, 

 (BIA 1962). The Attorney General
has expressly determined that immigration proceedings do not come
within the scope of the EAJA and has implemented a regulation to that
effect. See 

 (1988). Thus, under present law, absent
a change to this regulation or a final court order directing an
immigration judge or the Board to consider and adjudicate an
application for attorney fees under EAJA, I would find no statutory or

                                   33
Interim Decision #3105

regulatory authority giving jurisdiction to an immigration judge or the
Board to do so.
   Here, the pertinent regulations governing the immigration judges
and the Board remain in force and effect and there is no court order
clearly directing either an immigration judge or the Board to consider
and adjudicate an application for attorney fees and costs under the
EAJA. The Ninth Circuit's orders in Escobar Ruiz v. INS, 

 (9th Cir. 1986), reh'g denied, 

 (9th Cir. 1987), affd,

 (9th Cir. 1988) (en bane), do not specify that the Board
and immigration judges have authority to award attorney fees under
the EAJA, although that conclusion might be inferred from the
decisions. However, this issue was not specifically addressed and
discussed in any of the three Escobar Ruiz decisions. The argument of
respondent that the regulations authorize the immigration judge to
award such fees is based upon ambiguous language of a general nature,
which does not overcome the clear failure of the regulations to delegate
this authority to the immigration judges and the Board. While the
Ninth Circuit decisions hold that the EAJA applies to deportation
proceedings, they do not circumscribe the power of the Attorney
General to make provision for the method by which such awards may
be determined. Accordingly, I would hold that the Board and
immigration judges lack authority to make such awards, and I would
certify the decision of the Board to the Attorney General under 

(h) (1988) so that he could decide as a matter of policy
how this matter should be resolved.
CONCURRING OPINION: Fred W. Vacca, Board Member
   I concur in the foregoing opinion.




                                   34