Abebe v. Gonzales

I write separately because I would decide this case differently than does the majority were I not constrained by Ko-marenko v. INS, 35 F.3d 432 (9th Cir. 1994). Komarenko, in my view, was wrongly decided, in large part for the reasons that the Second Circuit recently explained in a thorough analysis of the equal protection issue underlying this case. See Blake v. Carbone, 489 F.3d 88 (2d Cir, 2007). But for Komarenko, I would decide this case as the Second Circuit decided Blake.1 Yet, I cannot fault the majority for relying on Komarenko in its equal protection analysis, and I therefore concur…