Discretionary Denial

29 I&N Dec. 351 (BIA 2025) · 2025

Respondent's repeated violations of workplace safety regulations resulting in the deaths of two employees are significant adverse factors weighing against a favorable exercise of discretion for purposes of cancellation of removal.

Workplace misconduct causing death — even without criminal conviction — can be a decisive adverse discretionary factor in cancellation proceedings.

29 I&N Dec. 339 (BIA 2025) · 2025

IJ erred in finding respondent warranted a favorable exercise of discretion for cancellation where he engaged in systemic criminal fraud for decades; recent expressed remorse and rehabilitative efforts while in prison were insufficient to overcome his lengthy and serious criminal history.

Short-term rehabilitation during incarceration carries little weight against decades of serious fraud. Discretion is not rehabilitated overnight.

29 I&N Dec. 325 (BIA 2025) · 2025

Criminal history of drug use and exposure of children to drugs outweigh favorable factors — including claimed remorse and stated intention to avoid drug use — warranting discretionary denial of cancellation of removal.

Conduct harming children is treated as a particularly weighty adverse factor in cancellation discretion, not merely a neutral background fact.

29 I&N Dec. 648 (BIA 2026) · 2026

Respondent's criminal history — including charges that did not result in a conviction — and his reluctance to accept responsibility for criminal acts outweigh favorable factors relevant to the exercise of discretion for cancellation of removal.

Non-conviction criminal history and failure to accept responsibility are independently cognizable adverse factors in cancellation discretion, not limited to actual convictions.

29 I&N Dec. 658 (BIA 2026) · 2026

An alien's lack of candor regarding his criminal history is a significant adverse factor when exercising discretion on an application for cancellation of removal.

Dishonesty with the immigration court about criminal history is a standalone adverse factor independent of the underlying criminal conduct itself.