Niz-Chavez is a sequel to the Supreme Court’s decision in 2018’s Pereira v. Sessions. Both cases involve a federal law governing the deportation of immigrants who live in the United States without authorization. The law lets executive branch officials cancel the removal of these immigrants if, among other things, they’ve resided in the country for 10 years. But there’s a catch: If the government sends them “a notice to appear” at a removal proceeding, it stops the clock, for legal purposes, on their time living in the country. So, for instance, if an immigrant gets a removal notice after living in the U.S. for 9 years and 11 months, they can’t cancel their deportation even after they cross the 10-year threshold.
The Supreme Court building in D.C.