Man sends out distress call after his boat engine dies. The Coast Guard tows him to Oxnard, Calif. harbor, where eight officers are waiting to detain him on suspicion of being an illegal alien, which it turns out he is. Ninth Circuit (August 2017): Boating while Latino does not give rise to probable cause; terminate the removal proceedings. But wait! The opinion is withdrawn in July 2018 after its author, Judge Pregerson, dies. Ninth Circuit (now with Judge Wardlaw): Actually, we’ll let the immigration court figure out if removal proceedings should be terminated. Judge Paez/Pregerson concurring: It is troubling that the gov’t encourages noncitizens to apply to relief programs and then uses that info against them in removal proceedings.
