Should “Customary International Law” Override a U.S. Statute?
Of Course Not! The Second Circuit Reaches the Right Result… But Ducks the Crucial Issue Atlantic Legal, working with co-counsel Pacific Legal Foundation, filed an amicus brief in support of the United States in Beharry v. Reno. Donald Beharry is a convicted felon (for burglary and armed robbery) who held a green card. Pursuant to statute, the Immigration and Naturalization Service ordered him deported. Beharry sought a “hardship exemption” because his daughter, now 8 years old, was born in the U.S. and thus is a citizen. The exemption was denied on the grounds that Beharry’s claim does not fall within any of the statutory exemption categories because he was convicted of an “aggravated felony.” Beharry petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Jack Weinstein granted the petition and, while acknowledging that the U.S. statutes do not provide for an exemption in this case and that he was making new law, decided that “cu
