## Facts

- Egidijus Siniauskas, a native and citizen of Lithuania, entered the United States in 2000 as a nonimmigrant visitor and overstayed.
- He was married to a lawful permanent resident and had a U.S.-citizen daughter.
- Between 2006 and 2007, he sustained three DUI convictions, two involving accidents.
- He presented evidence of rehabilitation and positive equities, including Alcoholics Anonymous participation, treatment, employment, business ownership, and charitable activities.
- In 2017, he was arrested for a fourth DUI involving an accident and was taken into DHS custody.
- An Immigration Judge (IJ) initially denied bond as a danger determination, later granted custody redetermination and ordered release on a $25,000 bond.
- DHS appealed the bond order to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) under INA § 236(a).

## Issues

1. Whether, in a custody redetermination under INA § 236(a), the respondent carried the burden to show he did not present a danger to persons or property so that bond could be set.
2. How multiple DUI convictions and a recent DUI arrest—despite asserted rehabilitation and substantial family/community ties—affect the dangerousness analysis in bond proceedings.

## Decision

- The BIA sustained DHS’s appeal.
- The BIA reversed the IJ’s custody redetermination granting bond.
- The BIA ordered the respondent detained without bond because he failed to establish he was not a danger to the community.

## Legal Principles

- In bond proceedings under INA § 236(a), the respondent bears the burden to show to the satisfaction of the IJ and the BIA that he or she is not a danger to persons or property, is not a threat to national security, and is not a flight risk.
- Bond should be set only after a determination that the respondent does not present a danger to the community; otherwise, detention without bond is proper.
- Dangerousness determinations should consider the nature and circumstances of criminal activity, including arrests and convictions.
- DUI conduct is a significant adverse consideration in assessing dangerousness in immigration bond proceedings, particularly where there is recidivism or conduct involving accidents.
- Family and community ties may be relevant to flight risk but generally do not mitigate dangerousness for bond purposes.

## Conclusion

The BIA held that repeated DUI conduct, including a recent DUI arrest involving an accident, prevented the respondent from meeting his burden under INA § 236(a) to show he was not a danger to the community; positive equities and family/community ties did not overcome that showing, and detention without bond was required.


In re Siniauskas, 27 I. & N. Dec. 207 (B.I.A. 2018)