A Medford man who came to the United States as a teen more than 20 years ago from Mexico has petitioned the nation’s high court to halt his deportation as he seeks asylum, fearing he’ll be harmed by drug cartels in his native country, including those run by accused drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Joaquin Ledesma-Conchas, 43, said one of his older brothers disappeared in Mexico in 2014 after being threatened by cartels and is believed to have been killed.

Ledesma-Conchas came to the United States at age 18 or 19, is married and has four children who are U.S. citizens, including one son who has enlisted in the U.S. Army after being in the Marine Reserves. He runs his own landscaping business in Medford, his lawyers said.

Ledesma-Conchas was detained by federal immigration officials in the 1990s after a traffic stop and then placed in removal proceedings. He failed to appear at a removal hearing in 1999 because he couldn’t find the location in Portland after driving about five hours from Medford, according to court papers.

His attorney at the time erroneously told him there was nothing he needed to do after missing that hearing, and he was deported about six months later, according to Siovhan Ayala, one of his current lawyers. Ledesma-Conchas returned to the United States about three months later to reunite with his family, she said.

His lawyers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put a hold on their client’s removal, appealing a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that denied review of a 2016 decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The fact that Ledesma-Conchas’ son is enlisted in the U.S. Army normally would halt the father’s removal, Ayala said. However, because of the old removal order, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has refused to allow Ledesma-Conchas to remain in the country. It’s also rare for an immigrant to continue to fight such a case to the U.S. Supreme Court, his lawyer said.

The appellate court in May 2018 found the immigration board acted within its discretion because Ledesma-Concha filed a request to review his removal too late -- 12 years after the order was issued at the hearing he missed. The court also said it lacked authority to review the board’s decision.

Federal appeals courts have been reluctant to reverse administrative immigration actions, noting that agencies such as the board usually are better equipped to determine enforcement actions.

Ledesma-Conchas’ lawyers cite a dissenting opinion by 9th Circuit Judge Myron H. Bright , who noted there should be a judicial standard to review the immigration board’s denials, particularly when there’s “exceptional circumstances.’’

Ledesma-Conchas’ family members in Mexico are ranchers who have been targeted by drug trafficking organizations, according to his lawyers. His father had to abandon his livelihood as the cartels threatened him for his animals, they said. More recently, another of Ledesma-Conchas’ brothers also has disappeared, they said.

“He faces death if removed,’’ attorney Richard Wintory wrote in the petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. The family’s persecution has included “death threats, kidnapping, extortion, and disappearances,’’ he wrote.

The Board of Immigration Appeals, though, said in 2016 that Ledesma-Conchas didn’t know who was responsible for the 2014 disappearance of one brother and that alleged cartel threats to his family “appear to be motivated by the desire to steal livestock, which would constitute criminal activity but no persecution.” The harm he fears doesn’t provide a grounds for asylum, the board found.

Ledesma-Conchas’ lawyers argue that the immigration board denied his motion to reopen his case without a clear standard. Ledesma-Conchas was granted a stay of removal under the Obama administration, but the current administration has chosen to lift that hold, Ayala said.

Separately, Ledesma-Conchas has a motion pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals to cancel his removal order, arguing that he’s been in the United States more than 10 years, is of good moral character and his deportation would harm his family. He had one driving under the influence of intoxicants conviction in the early 90s, his lawyer said.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

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