Omaboe v. Sessions et al.

Kofi Omaboe, a native and citizen of Ghana, was ordered removed from the United States based on criminal convictions. He applied for cancellation of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act, arguing that his removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his United States citizen daughter. An Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals both denied the application, finding that the claimed hardship did not meet the stringent statutory standard. Omaboe petitioned for review in the Second Circuit. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the agency's ultimate discretionary denial and that the underlying hardship determination was supported by substantial evidence. The petition for review was accordingly denied.

The Second Circuit denied the petition for review, affirming the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of cancellation of removal.

Whether the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in concluding that Omaboe failed to establish that his removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his U.S. citizen daughter, and whether the appellate court had jurisdiction to review that discretionary determination.

The ruling reaffirmed the high evidentiary bar for proving exceptional and extremely unusual hardship in cancellation of removal cases and underscored the limited scope of judicial review over discretionary immigration decisions. It serves as a significant precedent for immigration practitioners on the stringent requirements needed to support hardship claims for nonpermanent residents facing removal.