In Pereira v. Sessions, the Supreme Court held that a putative “notice to appear” that does not specify the time and place of a removal hearing does not trigger the stop-time rule with regard to cancellation of removal. This seemingly simple decision sent shock waves through the immigration system as it potentially undermined an immigration judge’s jurisdiction in any case initiated by a “notice to appear” lacking time-and-place information. Although the Board of Immigration Appeals and numerous circuits have rejected such Pereira-based jurisdictional arguments, this Note argues that Pereira should be extended to allow defendants in criminal prosecutions for illegal reentry to collaterally attack their predicate removal orders on the basis of a lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
