Monsalvo Velazquez v. Bondi

P R E L I M I N A R Y P R I N T
Volume 604 U. S. Part 2
Pages 712–760
OFFICIAL REPORTS
OF
T H E S U P R E M E C O U R T
April 22, 2025
REBECCA A. WOMELDORF
reporter of decisions
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712 OCTOBER
TERM, 2024
Syllabus
MONSALVO VELÁZQUEZ v. BONDI, ATTORNEY
GENERAL
certiorari
to the united states court of appeals for
the tenth circuit
No. 23–929. Argued November 12, 2024—Decided April 22, 2025
The federal government initiated removal proceedings against petitioner
Monsalvo Velázquez, who asked the government to suspend its removal
efforts or, alternatively, to permit him to leave the United States volun-
tarily. The immigration judge concluded Monsalvo was removable but
granted him an opportunity to voluntarily depart within 60 days.
After the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected his appeal, it granted
Monsalvo a new 60-day voluntary departure period. The 60th day fell
on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Monsalvo fled a motion to reopen
proceedings on Monday, December 13. The Board rejected that motion,
concluding that the voluntary departure period had expired on Satur-
day, and Monsalvo's motion was therefore too late. Monsalvo asked the
Board to reconsider that conclusion, but the Board refused. Monsalvo
then petitioned for judicial review in the Tenth Circuit. The Tenth Cir-
cuit agreed with the Board, holding that the voluntary departure dead-
line in 8 U. S. C. § 1229c(b)(2) refers to calendar days with no extension
for deadlines that fall on weekends or holidays.
Held:
1. This Court has jurisdiction to review Monsalvo's petition. Under
§ 1252, courts may review “fnal order[s] of removal” and “all questions
of law” arising from them. Monsalvo's petition sought judicial review
of a legal question about the meaning of a term in his fnal removal
order—specifcally, the meaning of “60 days” for voluntary departure.
Although Monsalvo did not challenge his removability, nothing in § 1252
requires an individual to press a challenge to one term in a fnal order
of removal just to secure judicial review of another. This Court rejects
the government's argument that a petition must include a challenge to
removability to secure judicial review. Such an interpretation would
force litigants to assert meritless claims simply to obtain jurisdiction.
Pp. 719–724.
2. Under § 1229c(b)(2), a voluntary-departure deadline that falls on a
weekend or legal holiday extends to the next business day. The Board
and the Tenth Circuit understood “days” to bear the ordinary meaning
of calendar days, no more or less. But evidence suggests a specialized
meaning in legal settings where the term “days” is often understood to

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as: 604 U. S. 712 (2025)
713
Syllabus
extend deadlines falling on a weekend or legal holiday to the next busi-
ness
day. When Congress adopts a new law against the backdrop of a
“longstanding administrative construction,” the Court generally pre-
sumes the new provision works in harmony with what came before.
Haig v. Agee, 453 U. S. 280, 297–298. Since at least the 1950s, immigra-
tion regulations have provided that when calculating deadlines, the
term “day” carries its specialized meaning by excluding Sundays and
legal holidays (and later Saturdays) if a deadline would otherwise fall
on one of those days. Congress enacted § 1229c(b)(2) as part of § 304 of
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of
1996 (IIRIRA) against this consistent regulatory backdrop. The gov-
ernment concedes that other deadlines in the same section of IIRIRA,
such as deadlines for motions to reopen or reconsider, are subject to
this rule. The identical term “days” should be given the same meaning
throughout § 304, especially when the provisions were enacted at the
same time in the same section of the law.
Three principal counterarguments are insuffcient to overcome the
presumption that § 1229c(b)(2) follows the government's own longstand-
ing practice of extending deadlines falling on a weekend or legal holiday
to the next business day. First, the fact that the regulatory defnition
of “day” applies directly only to regulatory deadlines and not to statu-
tory deadlines like the one found in § 1229c(b)(2) is irrelevant. The
question here is not whether a regulation can trump a statute but
whether Congress's work in § 304 of IIRIRA should be read in light of
the government's longstanding regulatory practice. Second, the argu-
ment that Congress intended different treatment for voluntary depar-
ture because it selected 60 days rather than adopting a pre-existing
regulatory deadline of 90 or 30 days is unpersuasive, as nothing in § 304
hints that deadlines should operate differently, and the government it-
self did not advance this view when promulgating rules to enforce the
deadline. Third, nothing in the text supports the government's pro-
posed distinction between “procedural” and “substantive” deadlines, as
§ 304 does not draw such lines, nor does the regulatory background sug-
gest this distinction. Pp. 724–731.
88 F. 4th 1301, reversed and remanded.
Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts,
C. J., and Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., fled
a dissenting opinion, in which Alito, J., joined, and in which Kavanaugh
and Barrett, JJ., joined as to Parts I and II, post, p. 731. Alito, J., post,
p. 748, and Barrett, J., post, p. 758, fled dissenting opinions, in which
Kavanaugh, J., joined.

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714 MONSAL
VO VELÁZQUEZ v. BONDI
Opinion of the Court
Gerard J. Cedrone argued the cause for petitioner. With
h
im on the briefs were David J. Zimmer and Sierra J.
Perez-Sparks.
Anthony A. Yang argued the cause for respondent. With
him on the brief were Solicitor General Prelogar, Principal
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Boynton, Deputy Solic-
itor General Gannon, John W. Blakeley, Melissa Neiman-
Kelting, and Andrew C. MacLachlan.*
Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case poses a question about how to calculate a dead-
line. Often, the government may detain and deport an
individual after properly determining he is unlawfully pres-
ent in this country. But, under 8 U. S. C. § 1229c(b), the gov-
ernment will sometimes delay detention and deportation for
up to “60 days” to allow those of “good moral character” to
leave the country on their own terms. When it comes to
many other deadlines in immigration law, if the fnal day per-
mitted for taking an action falls on a weekend or legal holi-
day, the deadline rolls over to the next business day. The
question for us is whether § 1229c(b)(2)'s 60-day voluntary-
departure deadline works that same way.
I
A
Born in Mexico, Hugo Monsalvo Velázquez entered the
United States unlawfully as a teenager about 20 years ago.
Since then, he has made his life in Colorado. Pet. for Cert.
15. There, he attended high school, some college, and met
and married his wife. Ibid. The couple has an 11-year-old
son and a 9-year-old daughter, both U. S. citizens. Ibid.
*Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were fled for the American
Immigration Lawyers Association by Amanda K. Rice; for the Round
Table of Former Immigration Judges by Scott H. Angstreich; and for
Thomas Fuller Ogden, pro se.

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Opinion of the Court
Mr. Monsalvo and his wife have raised their family in a home
they
own outside Denver, where he also owns and operates
a small business. Ibid.
In 2011, the federal government initiated proceedings to
remove Mr. Monsalvo from the country. Velazquez v. Gar-
land, 88 F. 4th 1301, 1303 (CA10 2023). In response,
Mr. Monsalvo did not dispute that he had entered the coun-
try unlawfully, but he asked the government to suspend its
removal efforts because he would face persecution if re-
turned to Mexico. App. to Pet. for Cert. 44a–50a. Alterna-
tively, he sought permission to leave the country voluntarily.
Id., at 50a.
That second request was important to him. As a rule,
individuals lawfully determined to be deportable from this
country are not entitled to leave on their own terms but in-
stead face detention and forcible removal. See Dada v. Mu-
kasey, 554 U. S. 1, 11 (2008). In certain circumstances, how-
ever, the government can afford the option of a “voluntary
departure” to those “of good moral character.” § 1229c(b)
(1)(B). When the government extends this option, it effec-
tively makes detention and removal contingent: Offcials may
detain and remove the individual only if he remains in the
country after his voluntary-departure period has expired.
Suspending removal in this way can beneft both the govern-
ment and the individual. For the government, an individu-
al's voluntary departure saves the cost and effort associated
with detention and removal. Id., at 11. For the individual,
it not only allows him to choose how and when he leaves the
country. It also allows him to avoid substantial penalties
associated with a forcible removal. Id., at 11–12 (citing
§ 1182(a)(9)(A)).
In 2019, an i mmigrati on judge issued a decisi on i n
Mr. Monsalvo's case. The judge rejected his claim that he
would face persecution if returned to Mexico. But the judge
also found Mr. Monsalvo eligible for voluntary departure and
gave him 60 days to leave the country, the maximum allowed
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VO VELÁZQUEZ v. BONDI
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by law. App. to Pet. for Cert. 51a. As it happened, the
end
of that 60-day period fell on a Saturday. So, the judge
specifed, Mr. Monsalvo's deadline for departing voluntarily
would extend to the following Monday. Id., at 70a. Should
he fail to leave within that period, the immigration judge
further ordered, Mr. Monsalvo would face removal and the
penalties associated with it. Id., at 51a.
Mr. Monsalvo responded by appealing to the Board of Im-
migration Appeals. By regulation, that appeal stayed the
immigration judge's order. See 8 CFR § 1003.6 (2019);
Dada, 554 U. S., at 10. On October 12, 2021, the Board is-
sued its own decision. In it, the Board rejected Mr. Monsal-
vo's argument that he would face persecution in Mexico and
gave him a (new) period of “60 days to voluntarily depart”
the United St ates, “ the maxi mum per i od a l lowed by”
§ 1229c(b)(2). App. to Pet. for Cert. 40a. If he “fail[ed] to
voluntarily depart” within that period, the Board added, he
“shall be removed.” Id., at 42a. Summing up, the Board
explained its disposition this way:
“ORDER: The respondent's appeal is dismissed.
“FURTHER ORDER: . . . the respondent(s) is (are)
permitted to voluntarily depart . . . within 60 days . . . .
In the event a respondent fails to voluntarily depart . . .
the respondent shall be removed as provided in the Im-
migration Judge's order.” Ibid.
The Board's decision also included two other salient provi-
sions. In one, the Board warned Mr. Monsalvo that he
would face serious penalties if he overstayed his voluntary-
departure deadline. Those penalties could include not just
removal and monetary fnes, but also ineligibility for most
forms of immigration relief for a period of 10 years. Id., at
42a–43a; 8 U. S. C. § 1229c(d)(1). In the other provision, the
Board advised Mr. Monsalvo of his right to fle a motion to
reopen his removal proceedings if he thought he had new and
previously unavailable evidence that could alter the Board's
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assessment of his case. App. to Pet. for Cert. 43a. If he
f
led such a motion before the expiration of his 60-day
voluntary-departure period, the Board continued, the penal-
ties associated with failing to depart would “not apply.”
Ibid.; 8 CFR § 1240.26(b)(3)(iii) (2021).
B
Consistent with the Board's direction, Mr. Monsalvo fled
a motion to reopen. On Friday, December 10, 2021, his at-
torney served the government with a copy and sent the orig-
inal to the Board using an overnight delivery service. Brief
for Petitioner 12. On the following Monday, December 13,
2021, the Board accepted the motion for fling. Ibid. The
motion drew the Board's attention to this Court's then-recent
decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 593 U. S. 155 (2021), and
argued that, under its terms, Mr. Monsalvo was entitled to
have his order of removal canceled. Brief for Petitioner 12.
The Board denied the motion to reopen for two reasons.
First, it held that Niz-Chavez did not justify reopening
Mr. Monsalvo's removal proceedings. App. to Pet. for Cert.
37a. Second, and without prompting from the government,
the Board held that his motion to reopen had arrived too
late. Id., at 38a.
The Board's second holding rested on an interpretation
of § 1229c(b)(2)'s voluntary-departure deadline. The Board
began by observing that it had given Mr. Monsalvo “60 days”
to depart voluntarily, the maximum allowed by § 1229c(b)(2).
Interpreting that statute, the Board read its use of the term
“days” to refer to calendar days. Here, that meant Mr. Mon-
salvo's voluntary-departure period began on October 12,
2021, when the Board issued its removal order, and expired
on Saturday, December 11, 2021. The Board did not ques-
tion that Mr. Monsalvo served his motion to reopen the day
before, on Friday, December 10, 2021. But, the Board
stressed, the motion was not fled until the following busi-
ness day, Monday, December 13, 2021. And, as the Board
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saw it, that created a problem. Because Mr. Monsalvo had
neither
left the country nor fled a motion to reopen before
the expiration of his voluntary-departure period, the Board
said, the penalties it had previously warned Mr. Monsalvo
about now applied. See supra, at 716. Accordingly, the
Board held, it was powerless to entertain his motion—or
nearly any request for immigration relief he might wish to
pursue for the next decade. App. to Pet. for Cert. 38a (cit-
ing § 1229c(d)); see also id., at 43a.
Mr. Monsalvo fled a motion asking the Board to reconsider
this second holding. Pet. for Cert. 19. His reason for fo-
cusing on it was obvious. Not only did that holding prevent
him from seeking to reopen his case; the Board's reasoning
had the potential to foreclose for years almost any avenue of
lawful immigration relief he might hope to pursue. Ad-
dressing the Board's holding, Mr. Monsalvo argued that it
misconstrued § 1229c(b)(2). As a matter of law, he submit-
ted, that statute operates to extend any deadline that falls
on a weekend or legal holiday to the next business day. The
i mmigrati on judge handl i ng h is case had understood
§ 1229c(b)(2) to work just this way. See supra, at 716; App.
to Pet. for Cert. 70a. And under that view of the law,
Mr. Monsalvo contended, his voluntary-departure deadline
did not expire until Monday, December 13, 2021. As a re-
sult, his motion to reopen was timely fled that same day, and
the penalties associated with failing to fle a motion to reopen
or to depart voluntarily did not apply. See 88 F. 4th, at
1305. Ultimately, however, the Board disagreed, stood by
its earlier decision, and denied Mr. Monsalvo's motion for re-
consideration. Ibid.
C
Having failed before the agency, Mr. Monsalvo turned to
court, petitioning the Tenth Circuit to review the Board's
order denying his motion for reconsideration. § 1252(a)(1).
But that effort failed too. Like the Board, the Tenth Circuit
thought that the provision in his fnal order of removal grant-

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ing him “60 days” to depart voluntarily was “[c]onclusively
.
. . governed by” § 1229c(b)(2). Id., at 1308. And, like the
Board, the court read the statute as speaking in terms of
“calendar days.” Id., at 1303. From this, the court rea-
soned, it followed that Mr. Monsalvo's voluntary-departure
deadline expired on Saturday, December 11, 2021, and his
failure to fle a motion to reopen or to depart voluntarily by
that date made it impossible for the Board to entertain either
his motion or perhaps any other application from him for
years. Id., at 1309–1310.
We agreed to take up the case because the Tenth Circuit's
interpretation of § 1229c(b)(2) opened a circuit split. 603
U. S. 903 (2024). While the Tenth Circuit has construed the
statute to afford an individual no more than 60 calendar days
to leave the country voluntarily, the Ninth Circuit has read
it to extend a deadline falling on a weekend or legal holiday
to the next business day. See Meza-Vallejos v. Holder, 669
F. 3d 920 (2012). Who is right on this question of statutory
interpretation matters greatly to people like Mr. Monsalvo.
Not only does it affect the time one may have to reopen im-
migration proceedings. As we have seen, it also affects an
individual's exposure to detention, removal, and fnes, and
carries with it serious ramifcations for his ability to seek
lawfu l status for years into the future. §§ 1229c(d)(1),
1182(a)(9); 8 CFR § 1240.26(a).
II
Before we can address that question, however, we must
attend to an antecedent one. In the Tenth Circuit, the gov-
ernment argued that court lacked statutory jurisdiction to
entertain Mr. Monsalvo's petition. Here, the government
renews its claim. On its view, we cannot pass on who has
the better reading of § 1229c(b)(2), but must instead vacate
the Tenth Circuit's judgment and remand Mr. Monsalvo's pe-
tition to that court with instructions to dismiss it. See Brief
for Respondent 15–20.
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Opinion of the Court
A
The
Tenth Circuit's jurisdiction hinged on § 1252(a)(1).
That provision allows an individual to petition for “[ j]udicial
review of a fnal order of removal” in the appropriate court
of appeals. Ibid. Such a petition supplies the exclusive
means for obtaining “[ j]udicial review of all questions of law
and fact . . . arising from any action taken or proceed-
ing brought to remove an alien from the United States.”
§ 1252(b)(9).
The Tenth Circuit held that it had statutory jurisdiction to
consider Mr. Monsalvo's petition, and we agree. On October
12, 2021, the Board issued an order which petitioner con-
tends, and the government does not dispute, constituted a
fnal order of removal. See App. to Pet. for Cert. 42a–43a;
Reply Brief 5; Tr. of Oral Arg. 37–38, 64–65. That order
conditionally authorized Mr. Monsalvo's detention and
removal, providing that “[i]n the event” he failed to leave
voluntarily “within 60 days,” the “maximum period allowed
by” § 1229c(b)(2), authorities could detain and “remov[e]”
him. App. to Pet. for Cert. 40a, 42a; supra, at 716. In later
administrative proceedings, the parties disagreed about
what that order meant. The government read § 1229c(b)(2),
and thus the order, as affording Mr. Monsalvo 60 calendar
days before authorities could detain and remove him—
and thus before his time to fle a motion to reopen effectively
expired. Mr. Monsalvo interpreted the statute, and thus
his order, to extend his 60-day deadline, which fell on a week-
end, to the next business day. Mr. Monsalvo's petition to
the Tenth Circuit asked that court to resolve the parties'
dispute. Or, to put it in § 1252's terms, he asked the court
to review his “fnal order of removal” and address a “ques-
tio[n] of law . . . arising from” its terms. Exactly as the
law allows.
It is true that Mr. Monsalvo did not seek judicial review
immediately after the Board entered its fnal order of re-
moval. But, at that stage, he had no reason to do so. The
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Board had given him “60 days” to leave the country, and
the
immigration judge had already explained to him that a
voluntary-departure deadline falling on a weekend rolls over
to the next business day. Supra, at 715–716. The dispute
over the meaning of “60 days” arose only later, when, in rul-
ing on his motion to reopen and without prompting from the
government, the Board held that his voluntary-departure
deadline expired on a Saturday. See supra, at 717; App. to
Pet. for Cert. 38a. Understandably, Mr. Monsalvo asked the
Board to reconsider that conclusion before he proceeded to
court, giving the agency in the frst instance the chance to
address his argument that the phrase “60 days” in
§ 1229c(b)(2) and his order of removal extends a deadline fall-
ing on a weekend or legal holiday to the next business day.
See supra, at 718. It was only after the Board rejected that
view that he required judicial intervention. And nothing
prevented him from seeking it in a challenge to the Board's
reconsideration order, for that order expressly interpreted a
term in his fnal order of removal and Mr. Monsalvo's judicial
petition contested that interpretation as a matter of law.
B
The government does not dispute that Mr. Monsalvo pre-
sented the Tenth Circuit with a legal question about how
long he had to depart before facing removal. See Brief for
Respondent 18–20. But, the government insists, § 1252(a)(1)
requires more. To secure judicial review, the government
says, an individual must include in his petition some chal-
lenge to his “removability” from this country. Ibid. And
because Mr. Monsalvo's petition didn't do that, but pressed
only a question about his voluntary-departure deadline, the
court was powerless to hear his case.
To be sure, the government emphasizes, things could have
worked out differently for Mr. Monsalvo. All he had to do,
the government says, was bundle his question about the op-
eration of his voluntary-departure deadline with some chal-
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lenge to the Board's conclusion that he was removable. Id.,
at
20. So, for example, in addition to asking the Tenth Cir-
cuit to review the Board's order denying his motion for
reco n si de ra t io n (and re jec ti ng h is i nter pret ati on of
§ 1229c(b)(2)), he could have asked for review of the Board's
order denying his motion to reopen (and concluding he was
not entitled to have his removal canceled). Had he done
that, the government assures us, the Tenth Circuit would
have had jurisdiction over his petition and could have ad-
dressed both questions. Id., at 20.
The government does not deny that, under its view, some
people will have to “make up a completely meritless claim in
order to get jurisdiction.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 57–58. By the
conclusion of administrative proceedings, individuals like
Mr. Monsalvo may no longer think they have a viable chal-
lenge to their removability, only some other colorable and
consequential question about their fnal orders of removal.
But, as the government sees it, they cannot simply bring
that live question to court. They must either adorn their
judicial petitions with a pointless challenge to their remov-
ability or forfeit the right to review altogether.
We see nothing in § 1252 that puts litigants to that kind of
choice. The statute does not say that an individual must
press a challenge to one term in a fnal order of removal (a
fnding of “removability”) just to secure judicial review of
another (like a voluntary-departure deadline). In fact, the
word “removability” does not even appear in the statute.
Instead, § 1252 authorizes courts to review “fnal order[s] of
removal” and address “questions of law . . . arising from”
them. §§ 1252(a)(1), (b)(9). And pretty plainly, that lan-
guage permits a court to review all terms in a fnal order of
removal without anything like the qualifcation the govern-
ment imagines.
Our dissenting colleagues see things differently. In their
view, this Court's decision in Nasrallah v. Barr, 590 U. S.

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573 (2020), requires us to adopt the government's jurisdic-
ti
onal theory. See post, at 738–740 (opinion of Thomas, J.);
post, at 758–759 (opinion of Barrett, J.). But, if anything,
that case supports our conclusion. Nasrallah described a
“fnal order of removal” subject to judicial review as a fnal
order “ `concluding that the alien is deportable or ordering
deportation.' ” 590 U. S., at 581. And (again) that is ex-
actly what we have here: a fnal order specifying that the
government may remove Mr. Monsalvo if he fails to depart
voluntarily within 60 days, and a petition asking the courts
to settle a dispute over what that order means.
Justice Thomas highlights Nasrallah's holding that a
Board order denying relief under the Convention Against
Torture (CAT) in that case was “not part of the removal
order.” Post, at 739 (dissenting opinion). But we fail to see
the relevance of that holding to this case. A CAT order pro-
vides that, “notwithstanding ” a removal order, the govern-
ment may not remove an individual to a particular “desig-
nated country.” Nasrallah, 590 U. S., at 582. CAT orders,
moreover, have a distinct statutory basis from removal or-
ders, and different statutes govern their review. Id., at
579–580. No such order is in play here. Mr. Monsalvo has
not sought judicial review of a CAT order, only review about
the meaning of his fnal order of removal.
Justice Barrett, for her part, reads Nasrallah as sug-
gesting that an individual like Mr. Monsalvo may not chal-
lenge the Board's interpretation of a term in his removal
order. Instead, he may ask a court only to change or excise
a term in his removal order. See post, at 759 (dissenting opin-
ion). But Nasrallah held nothing of the kind. Nor is it pos-
sible to square such a view with the statutory text. Section
1252 permits individuals to petition for judicial review of
“fnal orders of removal” and indicates that those petitions
supply the exclusive means for securing “[ j]udicial review of
all questions of law.” § 1252(b)(9). Nothing in the statu-
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tory text contains anything like the limitation the dissent
supposes,
permitting judicial review of only certain kinds of
legal errors.
1
III
A
That takes us to the merits. The Board's fnal order of
removal permitted the government to detain and remove
Mr. Monsalvo if he failed to leave the country within “60
days . . . , the maximum period allowed by” § 1229c(b)(2).
App. to Pet. for Cert. 40a. Everyone agrees the proper con-
struction of that order is “governed by” the proper construc-
tion of § 1229c(b)(2). 88 F. 4th, at 1308. Like Mr. Monsal-
vo's fnal order of removal, that statute sets forth a deadline
expressed in terms of a number of “days.” See § 1229c(b)(2)
(“Permission to depart voluntarily under this subsection
shall not be valid for a period exceeding 60 days”). But
what does that mean: Does every calendar day count? Or
does the statute operate to extend a deadline that falls on a
weekend or legal holiday to the next business day?
1
Separately, the dissents suggest that we should remand this case to the
Tenth Circuit to address the government's “late-breaking ” jurisdictional
objection. Post, at 736 (opinion of Thomas, J.); see also post, at 760 (opin-
ion of Barrett, J.). But the government's objection is not a new one—
it has challenged statutory jurisdiction throughout the life of this litiga-
tion, even if it has pursued various and shifting theories to support its
objection. See Brief for Respondent in No. 22–9576 (CA10), pp. 36–38;
Brief for Respondent 15–20. Nor do the dissenters dispute that this
Court may “dispose of . . . recently raised jurisdictional argument[s].”
Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A /S, 566 U. S.
399, 412, n. 5 (2012).
Separately still, Justice Thomas suggests that we have developed an
argument for jurisdiction that Mr. Monsalvo did not present. See post,
at 743 (dissenting opinion). That charge is mistaken. Our analysis here
tracks Mr. Monsalvo's contention that his case satisfes § 1252 because he
sought judicial review of the Board's “resolution of the disputed timeliness
issue,” which turned on the “terms of [his] fnal removal order.” Reply
Brief 4–5.

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In truth, the statute is susceptible to both understandings.
An
ordinary reader might understand “days” to mean calen-
dar days, no more or less. That is how the Board and the
Tenth Circuit saw it. See supra, at 717–719. And, to be
sure, we usually assume statutory terms bear their ordinary
meaning “until and unless someone points to evidence sug-
gesting otherwise.” Niz-Chavez, 593 U. S., at 163. But
here, evidence suggesting the possibility of specialized mean-
ing does exist. In legal settings, the term “days” is often
understood to extend deadlines falling on a weekend or legal
holiday to the next business day. Various federal rules re-
fect this understanding. See, e. g., Fed. Rule Civ. Proc.
6(a)(1)(C). As do our own. See this Court's Rule 30(1).
The Ninth Circuit and the immigration judge in this case
thought § 1229c(b)(2) of a piece with that practice. See
supra, at 715–716, 719. The question before us thus boils
down to whether § 1229c(b)(2) uses the term “days” in its
ordinary or specialized sense.
To resolve that question, we turn to one of this Court's
customary interpretive tools. When Congress adopts a new
law against the backdrop of a “longstanding administrative
construction,” this Court generally presumes the new provi-
sion should be understood to work in harmony with what has
come before. Haig v. Agee, 453 U. S. 280, 297–298 (1981);
accord, United States v. Hill, 506 U. S. 546, 553–554 (1993);
FDIC v. Philadelphia Gear Corp., 476 U. S. 426, 437 (1986).
That presumption is all but dispositive here. For many
years, Congress has authorized the executive branch to draw
up regulations to enforce the immigration laws. See 8
U. S. C. § 1103(a)(3). And since at least the 1950s, those reg-
ulations have provided that, when calculating the deadline
for the “taking [of] any action,” the term “day” carries its
specialized meaning by excluding Sundays and legal holidays
if a deadline would otherwise fall on one of those days. 8
CFR § 1.1(a)(6) (1958) (emphasis added). In all the years
since, the only notable change to this rule has been the addi-
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tion of Saturdays to the list of excluded days. 52 Fed. Reg.
2935
(1987). Congress adopted § 1229c(b)(2) against the
backdrop of this consistent, longstanding administrative con-
struction. And, given that, we presume the statute employs
the same understanding.
2
Nor do we see anything in the statute that might overcome
our usual presumption. To the contrary, what evidence we
have before us only supports its application. Congress set
forth the maximum number of “days” allowed for voluntary
departure in § 304 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). In the
same section of that law, Congress also provided individuals
a certain number of “days” to fle motions to reopen or to
reconsider. 110 Stat. 3009–593; 8 U. S. C. §§ 1229a(c)(6)(B),
(c)(7)(C)(i). When it comes to those latter provisions, the
government concedes, the term “days” is best read in light
of pre-existing regulatory practice and thus takes its special-
ized meaning. Brief for Respondent 43–44. Everyone
agrees, then, that two provisions in § 304 operate to roll a
deadline falling on a weekend or legal holiday over to the
next business day. And if two provisions in a single section
of an Act of Congress use the term “days” this way, it is all
the more sensible to think a third provision in the same sec-
tion does as well. After all, “identical words and phrases
within the same statute should normally be given the same
meaning.” Powerex Corp. v. Reliant Energy Services, Inc.,
551 U. S. 224, 232 (2007). And, if anything, that maxim may
be “doubly appropriate” where, as here, Congress employed
the same term in multiple places “at the same time” in the
“same section of the [same] public law.” Id., at 231–232.
Tellingly, too, if Congress meant to depart from settled
i mmigrati on prac tice when it adopted the volunt ary-
2
Though § 1229c(b)(2) uses the plural “days,” and the regulation uses
the singular “day,” no one before us has suggested that distinction makes
a difference. Cf. 1 U. S. C. § 1 (“[W]ords importing the plural include the
singular,” and vice versa).
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departure deadline in 1996, the government itself seems not
to
have noticed. After Congress enacted IIRIRA, the gov-
ernment promulgated a new rule to enforce § 1229c(b)(2)'s
terms. See 62 Fed. Reg. 10312, 10372 (1997). Tracking the
statute, that rule allows an immigration judge to grant a
voluntary-departure period of up to “60 days.” 8 CFR
§ 240.26(e) (1999). And under the government's own regula-
tions, remember, regulatory deadlines defned in terms of
days do not expire on weekends or lega l hol idays.
§ 1001.1(h) (2021). Nowhere does the government's rule en-
forcing § 1229c(b)(2) suggest that it is exempt from these reg-
ulations.
3
Perhaps for this reason, the immigration judge in
Mr. Monsalvo's own case understood his voluntary-departure
deadline to extend past a weekend to a Monday. See supra,
at 716. Perhaps for this reason, as well, many other immi-
gration judges have done the same in other cases. See Brief
for American Immigration Lawyers Association as Amicus
Curiae 4 (collecting examples).
B
In response to our merits analysis, the government and
Justice Alito offer three principal counterarguments.
But, thoughtful as they are, we fnd none suffcient to over-
come the presumption that § 1229c(b)(2) follows the govern-
ment's own longstanding practice.
First, the government and Justice Alito stress the lim-
ited reach of the regulation defning the term “day.” Yes,
they admit, that rule has long indicated that deadlines ex-
3
Justice Alito notes that the government's rule provides that “ `the
total period of time [to voluntarily depart shall not exceed] 60 days as set
forth in Section 240B of the Act.' ” Post, at 757, n. 3 (dissenting opinion)
(quoting 8 CFR § 1240.26(f ) (2024)). But we fail to see how the language
he emphasizes moves the needle. As we have seen, the relevant section
of the Act does not defne “days.” Meanwhile, the government's own
rules instruct that regulatory deadlines like this one should be construed
consistent with the specialized meaning of the term “day.” Nor does any-
thing in this regulation disavow that approach.
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Opinion of the Court
pressed in days do not expire on weekends or legal holidays.
And
yes, they agree, the defnition applies for “computing
the period of time for taking any action provided in this
chapter.” 8 CFR § 1.1(h) (1996) (emphasis added). But,
they observe, that rule applies only to regulatory deadlines
and does not purport to control statutory deadlines like the
one found in § 1229c(b)(2). Brief for Respondent 43; post,
at 752 (dissenting opinion).
That much is true, but also irrelevant. The question be-
fore us isn't whether a regulation can trump a statute (of
course not). It is whether Congress's work in § 304 of
IIRIRA should be read in light of the government's long-
standing regulatory practice. And, again, even the govern-
ment concedes that the answer is (mostly) yes. Supra, at
726. When speaking of the “days” available for fling mo-
tions to reopen or to reconsider in § 304, the government ad-
mits, Congress meant to follow the pre-existing regulatory
practice rolling over deadlines falling on weekends and legal
holidays to the next business day. Brief for Respondent 43–
44. Nothing in the government's argument here supplies a
reason to suppose Congress meant the term “days” to work
differently when it comes to the voluntary-departure dead-
line found in the same section of IIRIRA.
4
Second, and attempting to address this defciency, the gov-
ernment and Justice Alito highlight the fact that, when
setting the deadlines for motions to reopen or to reconsider
in § 304, Congress codifed pre-existing deadlines found in
immigration regulations (90 days and 30 days, respectively).
By contrast, when Congress selected 60 days as the
voluntary-departure deadline, it did not pull that number
4
Justice Alito questions our reliance on the government's concession
that the specialized meaning of “days” applies to other deadlines in § 304
of IIRIRA. See post, at 754–755 (dissenting opinion). But our colleague
does not dispute the correctness of that concession and, in the end, seems
to embrace it. See post, at 753, 756 (endorsing the specialized meaning of
“days” for § 304's “fling ” deadlines).

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from a pre-existing regulatory deadline. Given that differ-
ence
, the argument goes, Congress must have meant the
word “days” to work differently when it comes to the
voluntary-departure deadline alone. Brief for Respondent
43–44; post, at 756–757 (dissenting opinion).
That conclusion, however, does not follow from its premise.
Exactly nothing in § 304 hints that deadlines found there
should operate differently. Nor does the regulatory back-
drop against which Congress legislated. Recall that, by
1996, the government's regulations had long provided—cate-
gorically and without exception—that the term “day” ex-
cludes certain weekends and legal holidays when it comes to
calculating the deadline for “taking any action,” of whatever
kind, required by regulation. 8 CFR § 1001.1(h) (emphasis
added). Again, too, if Congress meant to pursue a more par-
simonious approach for the voluntary-departure deadline in
§ 304, it is curious that the government itself did not seem to
advance that view when it promulgated its own rule to en-
force that deadline. See 8 CFR § 1240.26(e); supra, at 727,
and n. 3.
Third, coming at the problem from a different direction,
the government and Justice Alito suggest that we should
divide § 304's deadlines into “procedural” and “substantive”
categories. Brief for Respondent 15, 22; post, at 751, 753,
756 (dissenting opinion). For “procedural” deadlines, like
those for motions to reopen and reconsider, the government
and dissent concede, it makes sense to think Congress legis-
lated against the administrative backdrop we have described,
given that the agencies and courts where those motions must
be fled are usually closed on weekends and legal holidays.
But that consideration is immaterial, the government and
Justice Alito insist, for the “substantive” duty of voluntary
departure. After all, an individual can leave the country
almost anytime; even if agencies and courts close for the
weekend or a legal holiday, airports and roads generally re-
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730 MONSAL
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Maybe the procedural/substantive distinction the govern-
ment
and dissent propose would make for good policy. But
if Congress had something like that in mind, it never said so.
Section 304's text does not draw any lines between proce-
dural and substantive duties. Nor does the regulatory back-
ground against which the statute was adopted hint at such a
distinction. As we have seen, the government's longstand-
ing defnition of the term “day” excludes certain weekends
and holidays when calculating the time for taking “any ac-
tion” under immigration regulations—including when it
comes to various “substantive” actions that can plainly be
accomplished on a weekend or holiday, like “getting married
after entering the United States on a fancé(e) visa.” Brief
for Petitioner 38. Notably, as well, the government's own
regulations enforcing § 304 make no mention of a procedural/
substantive distinction either. Supra, at 724–726.
Perhaps, too, Congress had good reason for eschewing the
line the government and dissent would have us draw. Often
enough, as it happens, a “substantive” duty that can be per-
formed on any given day will be intertwined with a “proce-
dural” duty that can be discharged only on days when agen-
cies and courts are open. Mr. Monsalvo's case refects this
reality. In it, the effective (procedural) deadline for his mo-
tion to reopen turned on the calculation of the (substantive)
deadline for voluntary departure. See supra, at 717–718.
In light of that reality, a rational Congress might have
thought it sensible to extend the same rule to both the proce-
dural and substantive deadlines in § 304. Of course,
whether anyone in Congress gave so much as a passing
thought to questions like that is anyone's guess. But one
thing is certain: The statutory text Congress chose in
§ 1229c(b)(2) shows no more sign of a procedural/substantive
distinction than the government's own longstanding rules.
5
5
Briefy advancing a separate argument that the government has not
advanced for itself, Justice Alito suggests that the specialized meaning
of “days” cannot be applied sensibly to other deadlines governing, for ex-
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Thomas, J., dissenting
*
As
we see it, § 1229c(b)(2)'s deadline works like others
found in § 304 of IIRIRA—and so many others in immigra-
tion law. Here, as elsewhere, the term “days” operates to
extend a deadline that falls on a weekend or legal holiday
to the next business day. Because the Tenth Circuit held
otherwise in addressing Mr. Monsalvo's petition, its judg-
ment is reversed, and the case is remanded for further pro-
ceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
Justice Thomas, with whom Justice Alito joins, and
with whom Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Barrett join
as to Parts I and II, dissenting.
This Court granted certiorari to decide whether the dead-
line for a removable alien to voluntarily depart the United
States extends to the next business day if it would otherwise
fa l l on a weekend or publ ic hol iday. See 8 U. S. C.
§ 1229c(b)(2). But, the merits-stage briefng revealed a seri-
ous, novel jurisdictional objection that may bar our review.
Given that complication, we should have vacated and re-
manded for the Tenth Circuit's consideration in the frst in-
stance. Instead, the majority reaches the merits after fnd-
ing jurisdiction based on a fawed theory of its own creation.
I respectfully dissent.
I
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 66 Stat. 163,
8 U. S. C. § 1101 et seq., “governs how persons are admitted
to, and removed from, the United States.” Pereida v. Wil-
kinson, 592 U. S. 224, 227 (2021). In 1996, Congress enacted
“comprehensive amendments” to the INA through the Illegal
ample, how long an “alien crewman” may remain in this country. Post, at
752 (dissenting opinion) (discussing 8 U. S. C. § 1282(a)). But, as we have
sought to stress, different statutes passed at different times against differ-
ent regulatory backdrops may bear different meanings, and all we address
today is the meaning of § 1229c(b)(2).
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Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
(IIRIRA),
110 Stat. 3009–546. INS v. St. Cyr, 533 U. S. 289,
292 (2001). This case concerns two of IIRIRA's reforms: its
imposition of strict deadlines for voluntary departure, and
its curtailment of an alien's right to judicial review.
A
“Voluntary departure” is a discretionary form of immigra-
tion relief under which “certain favored aliens” can “leave
the country willingly,” in lieu of deportation. Dada v. Mu-
kasey, 554 U. S. 1, 8 (2008). This relief strikes a bargain
between the Government and eligible aliens. The Govern-
ment saves time and money by shifting the costs of depar-
ture onto the alien. In exchange, the alien retains some con-
trol over the timing and destination of his departure and
escapes the penalties that follow formal deportation. Ante,
at 715.
IIRIRA tightened this bargain by “curtail[ing] the period
of time during which an alien may remain in the United
States pending voluntary departure.” Dada, 554 U. S.,
at 9. Gone are the days when aliens permitted to voluntar-
ily depart could “ `continue their illegal presence in the
United States for months, and even years.' ” Ibid. Now,
a voluntary-departure period granted at the end of an
alien's remova l proceedings cannot “excee[d] 60 days. ”
§ 1229c(b)(2). Aliens who fail to timely depart face stringent
penalties, including a 10-year period of ineligibility for vari-
ous forms of immigration relief. § 1229c(d)(1); ante, at 716.
To enforce the voluntary-departure deadline, the immigra-
tion judge (IJ) or Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) must
enter an “alternate order of removal” alongside any grant
of voluntary departure. 8 CFR §§ 1240.26(d), (k)(1) (2024).
That order goes into effect automatically if an alien does not
depart by the deadline.
IIRIRA also permits an alien to give up his grant of vol-
untary departure and pursue other administrative relief.
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Thomas, J., dissenting
Dada, 554 U. S., at 21. The alien may at any time before his
volunt
ary-departure deadline move to reopen his removal
proceedi ngs or move for reconsiderati on of h is case.
§ 1240.26(e)(1). If the alien acts before the deadline, then his
motion will “automatically terminat[e] the grant of voluntary
departure” and cause the “alternate order of removal [to]
take effect,” but the alien will not be subject to the penalties
for failure to timely depart. §§ 1240.26(c)(3)(iii), (e)(1). If
the deadline “has already expired,” however, then a fling
“does not in any way impact the period of time allowed for
voluntary departure” or, outside an exception not rele-
vant here, the pena lties for fai l i ng to ti mely depar t.
§ 1240.26(e)(2).
B
Beyond its substantive constraints, IIRIRA also “instituted
a new” and “signifcantly more restrictive” scheme for judi-
cial review. Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Comm., 525 U. S. 471, 475 (1999) (AADC). That scheme
makes the “fnal order of removal” the linchpin of an alien's
right to judicial review. 8 U. S. C. § 1252.
A fnal order of removal is “a fnal order `concluding that
the alien is deportable or ordering deportation.' ” Nas-
ra ll ah v. Bar r, 590 U. S. 573, 579 (2020) (quoti ng
§ 1101(a)(47)(A)). Under § 1252, an alien can obtain judicial
review of such an order by fling a petition for review in
a federal court of appeals. § 1252(a)(1). That section also
makes review of “all questions of law and fact” arising from
an alien's removal proceedings available “only in judicial re-
view of a fnal order” of removal, unless there is an independ-
ent jurisdictional basis. § 1252(b)(9).
Our precedents have interpreted § 1252 to permit judicial
review only of the fnal order of removal itself and two
closely related categories of orders. First, “rulings that af-
fect the validity of the fnal order of removal,” such as an
IJ's evidentiary rulings, “merge into the fnal order of re-
moval for purposes of judicial review.” Id., at 582. Second,
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Thomas, J., dissenting
certain rulings that have an independent jurisdictional basis,
such
as an order regarding Convention Against Torture
(CAT) relief, “may be reviewed together with the fnal order
of removal.” Id., at 582–583, 585. Beyond these catego-
ries, however, the federal courts lack jurisdiction over
removal-related determinations. See Reyes Mata v. Lynch,
576 U. S. 143, 147 (2015).
C
Petitioner Hugo Monsalvo Velázquez is an alien who was
granted voluntary departure at the end of his removal pro-
ceedings. Before the IJ, he conceded removability but
sought CAT relief or withholding of removal based on an
alleged risk of future persecution. He asked for voluntary
departure in the alternative. The IJ granted only voluntary
departure, while also entering the requisite alternate order
of remova l. On appea l, the BIA reset the volunt ary-
departure period after it affrmed the IJ's denial of other
relief.
The BIA set Monsalvo's new voluntary-departure period
to run for the 60 days following its decision, which issued on
October 12, 2021. Measured by calendar days, a 60-day pe-
riod would end on Saturday, December 11, 2021.
On Friday, December 10, 2021, Monsalvo submitted a mo-
tion to reopen his removal proceedings via overnight de-
livery service. The motion asserted that, following this
Court's decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 593 U. S. 155
(2021), Monsalvo was newly eligible for cancellation of re-
moval. Pursuant to a BIA policy not challenged here, this
after-hours motion was not deemed fled until Monday, De-
cember 13, 2021, when the BIA was next open to receive
flings. See BIA Practice Manual § 3.1(a)(1), https://www
.justice.gov/eoir/reference-materials/ bia.
The BIA denied Monsalvo's motion both on the merits of
his Niz-Chavez claim and based on the timing of his fling.
On its view, “[t]he 60-day period of voluntary departure ter-
minated on December 11, 2021.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 38a.
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Thomas, J., dissenting
Because Monsalvo had failed to depart by that deadline, his
D
ecember 13 reopening motion came when he was already
subject to IIRIRA's penalties for failing to timely depart,
including “ineligibil[ity] for . . . cancellation of removal.”
Ibid. Thus, Monsalvo was ineligible for his requested relief.
After Monsalvo moved for reconsideration of only the tim-
ing holding, the BIA reaffrmed its position. “[N]o provi-
sion[,] statute[,] or regulation extend[s] the last day of the
voluntary departure period f[a]lling on a weekend or a legal
holiday to the next business day,” it explained, so 60 days
means 60 calendar days. Id., at 34a–35a.
Monsalvo petitioned the Tenth Circuit for review of the
BIA's reconsideration ruling. He argued that, when the
voluntary-departure deadline wou ld otherw ise fall on a
weekend or holiday, it rolls over to the next business day.
In deciding his petition, the Tenth Circuit frst rejected the
Government's arguments for why it lacked statutory juris-
diction under § 1252 to review the petition. On the merits,
the court ruled for the Government, agreeing with the BIA
that 60 days means 60 calendar days.
We granted certiorari to review the Tenth Circuit's merits
holding. 603 U. S. 903 (2024). But, since then, much of the
briefng—and our focus at oral argument—has centered on
the threshold issue of statutory jurisdiction.
The Government raised before this Court a new objection
to the Tenth Circuit's jurisdiction: that Monsalvo's petition
could not support jurisdiction because it did not bear on his
removability. The Government emphasized that Monsalvo
had asked the Tenth Circuit to review only the denial of his
motion for reconsideration, which, unlike his motion for re-
opening, did not ask the BIA to reopen his removal proceed-
ings. Accordingly, he was asking only “to alter a nondispos-
itive portion of the Board's reasoning in its prior decision
declining to reopen proceedings.” Brief for Respondent 19.
That unusual request, the Government contended, did not
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736 MONSAL
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Thomas, J., dissenting
II
In
view of the Government's serious, late-breaking juris-
dictional objection, we should have vacated and remanded
for the Tenth Circuit's review. Although “[o]bjections to a
tribunal's jurisdiction can be raised at any time,” Sebelius v.
Auburn Regional Medical Center, 568 U. S. 145, 153 (2013),
we need not resolve a belated objection ourselves.
Our “usual practice” is to refrain from deciding “legal . . .
questions in the frst instance.” CRST Van Expedited, Inc.
v. EEOC, 578 U. S. 419, 435 (2016). “[W]e are a court of
review, not of frst view.” Cutter v. Wilkinson, 544 U. S.
709, 718, n. 7 (2005). Accordingly, we ordinarily wait to see
if “the crucible of adversarial testing . . . , along with the
experience of our thoughtful colleagues on the district and
circuit benches, [can] yield insights (or reveal pitfalls) we can-
not muster guided only by our own lights.” Maslenjak v.
United States, 582 U. S. 335, 354 (2017) (Gorsuch, J., concur-
ring in part and concurring in judgment).
This Court has routinely vacated and remanded cases so
that lower courts can be the frst to address signifcant new
developments. Zubik v. Burwell, 578 U. S. 403, 408–409
(2016) (per curiam) (collecting cases). In a number of cases,
we have taken this course based on emergent jurisdictional
matters specifcally. See, e. g., Frank v. Gaos, 586 U. S. 485,
488, 492–493 (2019) (per curiam); Insurance Co. of Pa. v. Ben
Cooper, Inc., 498 U. S. 964 (1990).
I would do the same here. Not only was the jurisdictional
issue before us not raised below, but until this point it has
not been passed upon by any court. Tr. of Oral Arg. 12, 67.
1
Caution is also especially important for jurisdictional mat-
ters. “Congress' power over federal jurisdiction is `an es-
1
The majority cannot sidestep the novelty of the jurisdictional issue
before us by highlighting that the Government raised other objections to
statutory jurisdiction below. Ante, at 724, n. 1. The point remains that
the Government did not raise, and the Tenth Circuit had no opportunity
to consider, the important objection contested before this Court.
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Thomas, J., dissenting
sential ingredient of separation and equilibration of powers,
restrai
ning the courts from acting at certain times, and even
restraining them from acting permanently regarding certain
subjects.' ” Patchak v. Zinke, 583 U. S. 244, 254 (2018) (plu-
rality opinion) (quoting Steel Co. v. Citizens for Better Envi-
ronment, 523 U. S. 83, 101 (1998)). When we assume juris-
diction too hastily, we risk aggrandizing ourselves at the
expense of the political branches.
There is no reason for the Court's intervention today. We
did not grant certiorari to address jurisdiction, and—as its
novel status refects—the jurisdictional question plainly is
not so pressing as to require immediate resolution. Nor is
the underlying question presented so important as to require
resolution in this case. That question too arises only rarely:
As the Tenth Circuit recognized, its decision below resolved
“an issue of frst impression in th[at] court,” which had been
“addressed before by only one other circuit.” Velazquez v.
Garland, 88 F. 4th 1301, 1305 (2023).
Of course, we should not hesitate to brush aside baseless
jurisdictional objections. But, the issue here cannot be dis-
missed on that ground. The Government has raised a seri-
ous objection based on the tension between § 1252's removal-
focused jurisdictional framework and Monsalvo's choice to
seek review only of a claim unrelated to removability. We
should not be “the frst”—and only—“court in the Nation” to
address that tension. Yee v. Escondido, 503 U. S. 519, 538
(1992).
III
If required to decide the jurisdictional question, however,
I would conclude that the Tenth Circuit lacked jurisdiction
over Monsalvo's petition. “[T]he party invoking federal ju-
risdiction bears the burden of establishing its existence,”
and, on the admittedly limited briefng before us, Monsalvo
has not met his burden. Steel Co., 523 U. S., at 104. In con-
tending otherwise, Monsalvo and the majority offer two dis-
tinct theories of jurisdiction, but neither holds up.
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A
The
diffculty for Monsalvo stems from his litigation strat-
egy below. He asked the Tenth Circuit to review only the
BIA's denial of his reconsideration motion. Supra, at 735.
That motion, in turn, challenged only one of the BIA's two
bases for denying his reopening motion. Supra, at 734–735.
Monsalvo objected to the BIA's conclusion that the motion
was untimely, but not its conclusion that it also failed on the
merits. Ibid. In other words, the Government is right to
say that, before the Tenth Circuit, he sought only “to alter a
nondispositive portion of the Board's reasoning ” for denying
reopening. Brief for Respondent 19.
That framing fts poorly with § 1252, which ties jurisdiction
to a narrow version of the term “fnal order of removal.”
Before IIRIRA, the predecessor term “fnal order of depor-
tation” covered “ `all determinations made during and inci-
dent to the administrative proceeding ' on removability.”
Nasrallah, 590 U. S., at 584 (quoting Foti v. INS, 375 U. S.
217, 229 (1963)). But, under IIRIRA, a “fnal order of re-
moval” is only the “fnal order `concluding that the alien
is deportable or ordering deportation.' ” 590 U. S., at 579
(quoting § 1101(a)(47)(A)).
Nasrallah made clear that a “fnal order of removal” refers
only to the portion of an IJ or BIA decision that fnds or
orders removability, not the entirety of that decision. In
that case, we considered whether an alien barred under
§ 1252(a)(2)(C) from raising a factual challenge to his fnal
order of removal could still factually challenge the denial of
CAT relief. Id., at 576.
We began by considering the nature of the CAT denial.
In the underlying BIA decision, that denial immediately pre-
ceded the alien's removal order:
“FURTHER ORDER: The Immigration Judge's order
granting the respondent's application for deferral of re-
moval under the Convention Against Torture is vacated.
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Thomas, J., dissenting
“FURTHER ORDER: The respondent is ordered re-
moved
from the United States to Lebanon pursuant to
the Immigration Judge's August 11, 2016, order.” App.
to Pet. for Cert. in Nasrallah v. Barr, O. T. 2019, No.
18–1432, p. 21a.
Still, every Member of this Court recognized that the CAT
denial was a distinct order, and not part of the removal
order. 590 U. S., at 582; id., at 591 (Thomas, J., dissenting).
The Nasrallah majority then concluded that the distinct
status of a CAT order preserved Nasrallah's factual chal-
lenge to that order. On its understanding, § 1252(a)(2)(C)
constrained only Nasrallah's ability to challenge his fnal
order of removal itself, plus any “rulings that affect[ed] the
validity of the fnal order of removal” and so “merge[d] into
the fnal order of removal for purposes of judicial review.”
Id., at 582. Because the CAT order fell into neither cate-
gory, and instead had a separate jurisdictional basis, Nas-
rallah could still pursue his factual challenge to the CAT
order “together with the fnal order of removal.” Id., at
582–583.
2
Although this conclusion aided Nasrallah, it cuts against
Monsalvo. Unlike a CAT claimant, Monsalvo cannot point
to any basis for jurisdiction other than § 1252(a)(1). To es-
tablish jurisdiction, he must show that his petition before the
Tenth Circuit challenged either the fnal order of removal
2
I adhere to my disagreement with Nasrallah's disposition. See 590
U. S., at 589–591 (dissenting opinion). On my view, the § 1252(a)(2)(C) bar
applies to all claims governed by § 1252(b)(9)'s “zipper clause.” Ibid.
That clause “consolidates `all questions of law and fact . . . arising from
any action taken or proceeding brought to remove an alien' ” into review
of the fnal order of removal, where they are equally subject to § 1252's
“limitations on fnal orders of removal.” Id., at 591–592. “ `Arising
from' ” is a sweeping term, and a CAT order issued during a removal
proceeding falls within its ambit. Id., at 591. Regardless, because this
case turns on jurisdictional categories to which the Nasrallah majority
agreed that the zipper clause applies, my disagreement is of no moment
here. See ibid.
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itself, as Nasrallah construed it, or at least the validity of
that
order. Supra, at 733–734. But, in seeking review only
of a “nondispositive portion of the Board's reasoning,” Mon-
salvo's petition did neither. Brief for Respondent 19.
Monsalvo all but conceded below that his petition did not
bear on his fnal order of removal. As he explained in his
Tenth Circuit briefng, he “was not seeking to `vacate the
order of removal against him.' ” Ibid. (quoting Reply Brief
for Petitioner in No. 22–9576 (CA10), pp. 5–6 (sealed)). He
explained that a ruling that the BIA was wrong about the
date of his voluntary-departure deadline “ `would have no ef-
fect whatever' ” on “ `the underlying order of removal.' ”
Brief for Respondent 19 (quoting Reply Brief for Petitioner
in No. 22–9576 (CA10), at 5; emphasis deleted). Monsalvo
sought only a col latera l advant age: If h is volunt ary-
departure deadline did not expire until December 13, then
his motion to reopen—fled the same day—would have can-
celed his grant of voluntary departure without making him
subject to the penalties associated with failing to timely de-
part, such as “ineligibility for future immigration relief.” 88
F. 4th, at 1307.
It thus is not apparent how the Tenth Circuit had jurisdic-
tion to hear Monsalvo's case. Section 1252 allows review of
a limited range of removal-related matters; it is not a vehicle
to head off unwanted postremoval consequences.
B
Monsalvo's attempt to reconceptualize his challenge is un-
persuasive. He argues before this Court that the penalties
for failing to timely depart are not collateral consequences,
but terms of his fnal order of removal. Reply Brief 4. If
we recognized that his motion to reopen was fled before his
voluntary-departure deadline, he says, then those terms
would disappear, and the order would transform into one
“without any severe penalties.” Ibid.
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Thomas, J., dissenting
Monsalvo divines this conclusion from the BIA's original
decisi
on on his removability, in which the BIA affrmed the
IJ's denial of CAT and withholding relief. Monsalvo reads
that decision to state that, if he failed to timely depart, a
fnal order of removal with “three distinct terms” would go
into effect: frst, that he “ `shall be removed' ”; second, that
he “ `shall be subject to a [monetary] penalty' ”; and third,
that he “ `shall be ineligible for a period of 10 years for any
further relief under [certain INA provisions].' ” Id., at 5
(quoting App. to Pet. for Cert. 42a–43a). “If the Tenth Cir-
cuit had granted the petition for review,” he says, “the result
would have been to delete Clauses 2 and 3” from this removal
order. Reply Brief 5.
This argument conficts with Nasrallah. Again, that de-
cision made clear that a fnal order of removal refers only to
the portion of the IJ's or BIA's decision “ `concluding that the
alien is deportable or ordering deportation.' ” 590 U. S., at
579 (quoting § 1101(a)(47)(A)). Other directives do not qual-
ify, even if they are imposed concurrently. Thus, just as we
recognized that the CAT order in Nasrallah was not a fnal
order of removal, id., at 582, an order levying penalties upon
Monsalvo for failure to timely depart is also distinct. In at-
tempting to collapse the latter order into his fnal order of
removal, Monsalvo wrongly attempts to revive the pre-
IIRIRA approach. Supra, at 738.
Moreover, Monsalvo misunderstands the function of the
BIA's penalty language. That language did not purport to
impose liability on him in the event of his failure to timely
depart. Rather, it carried out the BIA's statutory obligation
to give him “notice” of the penalties listed in the INA for
untimeliness:
“NOTICE: If a respondent fails to voluntarily depart
the United States within the time period specifed, or
any extensions granted by the DHS, the respondent
shall be subject to a civil penalty as provided by the
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regulations and the statute, and shall be ineligible for a
pe
riod of 10 years for any further relief under [certain
INA provisions]. See section 240B(d) of the [INA].”
App. to Pet. for Cert. 42a–43a (emphasis added).
See also § 1229c(d)(3).
In other words, even if the “notice” paragraph could be
considered part of his fnal order of removal, the statements
therein are not “terms” of an order that restrict Monsalvo.
Rather, those statements merely notify Monsalvo of the law.
They retain the same force and effect whether or not Mon-
salvo met his voluntary-departure deadline. The underlying
source of Monsalvo's current exposure to liability is instead
the INA. § 1229c(d) (codifying INA § 240(B)(d), 110 Stat.
3009–597). So, the “notice” paragraph is not the true target
of Monsalvo's petition, and it cannot supply jurisdiction.
The same is true of the IJ order that the BIA incorporated
by reference. That order is the alternate order of removal
that the IJ entered when granting voluntary departure.
See supra, at 734. It simply stated that “respondent shall be
removed to Mexico on the charge in his Notice to Appear.”
App. to Pet. for Cert. 51a. And, although the IJ's decision
also warned of the statutory consequences associated with
untimeliness, this warning too was just an acknowledgment
of the “penalties . . . under Section 240B(d).” Id., at 51a–
52a. So, that removal order is no more helpful for Monsalvo.
In short, Monsalvo's theory rests on a misunderstanding
of both the scope of a fnal order of removal and the meaning
of the supposed “terms” of this order. Because he bears the
jurisdictional burden, these shortcomings should be disposi-
tive. Steel Co., 523 U. S., at 104.
3
3
To the extent Monsalvo suggests that courts of appeals have jurisdic-
tion to review reconsideration decisions as a categorical matter, he mis-
reads both 8 U. S. C. § 1252 and Reyes Mata v. Lynch, 576 U. S. 143 (2015).
Section 1252(b)(9) does not authorize review of “ `all questions of law and
fact . . . arising from' the removal proceedings.” Reply Brief 3. Rather,
it specifes that, absent an independent jurisdictional basis, such questions
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Thomas, J., dissenting
C
F
or its part, the majority declines to defend Monsalvo's
jurisdictional theory. Arguments for jurisdiction are not
exempt from principles of party presentation and forfeiture,
so that choice should be the end of the jurisdictional road.
See, e. g., TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 594 U. S. 413, 434–
435, n. 6 (2021).
Instead, the majority develops its own theory for jurisdic-
tion, based on reasoning that appeared nowhere in the
briefng or at oral argument. The majority agrees with
Monsalvo that he seeks review of a “term” in his fnal order
of removal, but it identifes the relevant term as the BIA's
provision of a 60-day voluntary-departure period. Ante, at
720. And, the majority concludes, the Tenth Circuit had au-
thority to interpret the meaning of “60 days” in this “term”
under its jurisdiction to review “ `fnal order[s] of removal' ”
and “ `questions of law . . . arising from' them.” Ante, at 722
(quoting §§ 1252(a)(1), (b)(9)). The majority errs with both
premises.
1
Like Monsalvo, the majority errs by assuming that Mon-
salvo's challenge goes to his fnal order of removal. To con-
clude that the grant of voluntary departure is part of Monsal-
vo's fnal order of removal, the majority appears to view the
order as comprising the BIA's entire decision. See ante,
of law and fact are reviewable only if brought “in judicial review of a fnal
order under this section.” § 1252(b)(9). That language thus facilitates
reviewability only if a petitioner has in fact sought review of a fnal order
of removal.
Reyes Mata did not suggest otherwise in noting that courts have long
reviewed reconsideration decisions, and that § 1252(b)(6) “contemplates”
review of such decisions, in the course of reviewing fnal orders of removal.
576 U. S., at 147–148. Those points do not confict with the rule that a
petitioner generally must challenge a fnal order of removal before he can
raise other issues alongside that challenge. See § 1252(b)(6) (permitting
consolidation of a challenge to a “motion to . . . reconsider the order”
“[w]hen a petitioner seeks review of an order under this section”).
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Thomas, J., dissenting
at 720. But, such a broad construction conficts with Nas-
ra
llah's recognition that the CAT order was distinct, even
when situated alongside a fnal order of removal in the same
decision. See supra, at 738–740. Following Nasrallah, a
grant of voluntary departure is a separate order that “is not
itself a fnal order of removal.” 590 U. S., at 582. The
BIA's regulations refect that point: They speak separately
of an “order granting voluntary departure” and an “order of
removal.” 8 CFR § 1240.26(c)(3). The scope of Monsalvo's
voluntary-departure period is therefore a question about the
voluntary-departure order, not the fnal order of removal.
The majority ignores Nasrallah's narrow interpretation of
a “fnal order of removal.” Brushing past the logic of that
decision, the majority summarily asserts that Nasrallah is
consistent with its view that a fnal order of removal encom-
passes the entire accompanying BIA decision. Ante, at 723.
But, Nasrallah's holding (that a CAT order is “ `not part of
the removal order' ”) cannot be divorced from its reasoning
(how to identify the removal order). Contra, ante, at 723.
In discarding Nasrallah, the majority instead relies on the
parties' supposed agreement that the entire BIA decision
constitutes a “fnal order of removal.” It asserts that the
parties have agreed that, “[o]n October 12, 2021, the Board
issued an order which . . . constituted a fnal order of re-
moval.” Ante, at 720. But, “federal courts have an inde-
pendent obligation to ensure that they do not exceed the
scope of their jurisdiction,” so we can accept the assumption
that we are reviewing a fnal order of removal only if it is in
fact true. Henderson v. Shinseki, 562 U. S. 428, 434 (2011).
Regardless, the majority's claim of agreement between the
parties rests on a misreading of both parties' arguments.
Although the Government agrees that the BIA decision con-
tains a fnal order of removal, see Tr. of Oral Arg. 38, it
rejects Monsalvo's position that this order and the BIA deci-
sion are one and the same. As the Government explains, it
had previously taken the broader view based on pre-IIRIRA
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Thomas, J., dissenting
case law, but this Court “rejected [it] in Nasrallah.” Id., at
35,
60. For his part, Monsalvo does purport to “challeng[e]
the terms of his removal order,” Reply Brief 5, but the ma-
jority misunderstands which terms Monsalvo puts in issue.
It asserts that he seeks clarifcation of what his “order
meant” with respect to his obligation “to leave voluntarily
`within 60 days.' ” Ante, at 720. But, as explained, Mon-
salvo actually views the relevant terms as the statutory pen-
alties invoked by the BIA. Supra, at 740–741.
4
The major-
ity's framing of the “fnal order of removal” in this case rests
on a stipulation that no party makes.
2
Even if Monsalvo's voluntary-departure order could be
considered part of his fnal order of removal, it does not fol-
low that the Tenth Circuit would have had jurisdiction over
a request to clarify the meaning of “60 days.” As relevant
here, § 1252 confers jurisdiction only for “[ j]udicial review of
a fnal order of removal.” § 1252(a)(1). The majority as-
sumes that a request for clarifcation would qualify, but that
assumption is debatable at best. Ante, at 720–721.
Until now, we have understood § 1252 to “ves[t] the courts
of appeals with the authority to consider petitions challeng-
ing `fnal orders' commanding the `removal' of aliens from the
United States.” Calcano-Martinez v. INS, 533 U. S. 348,
350 (2001). A request for clarifcation about an order's
meaning, standing alone, is not a challenge to that order. It
does not ask the court to “disturb the fnal order of removal”
i n any way. Nasra ll ah, 590 U. S., at 582. Rather, it
amounts to a request for a declaratory judgment, if not an
advisory opinion.
4
As best I can tell, Monsalvo does not even view the “60 days” language
as a term in his fnal order of removal. He states that the order contains
only “three distinct terms”—the directive that he “ `shall be removed,' ”
and the two clauses regarding penalties for failure to timely depart.
Reply Brief 5 (quoting App. to Pet. for Cert. 42a–43a); see supra, at 741.
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Extending § 1252 to reach such a request is hard to square
w
ith our conception of judicial review more generally. “The
question before an appellate Court is, was the judgment cor-
rect.” McClung v. Silliman, 6 Wheat. 598, 603 (1821).
After all, “our power is to correct wrong judgments, not to
revise opinions.” Herb v. Pitcairn, 324 U. S. 117, 126 (1945).
Given that we have not previously confronted this issue,
and the parties have not briefed it, I express no defnitive
view. But, it seems at minimum questionable whether an
alien who does not oppose the disposition of his fnal order
of removal seeks “review” of that order under § 1252.
The major ity sk ips over th is issue by resor ti ng to
§ 1252(b)(9), which it reads to allow a court of appeals to ad-
dress any “ `questions of law . . . arising from' ” a term in a
fnal order of removal. Ante, at 722. But, § 1252(b)(9) is
a “jurisdictional limitation,” not a grant of jurisdiction.
AADC, 525 U. S., at 482–483. It specifes that judicial re-
view of all questions of law arising from removal proceedings
“shall be available only in judicial review of a fnal order
under this section.” § 1252(b)(9). That provision thus does
not say that an alien can raise any question of law. Rather,
absent an independent jurisdictional basis, “a federal court
has jurisdiction to review” such a question only “when the
court reviews a `fnal order' of removal.” Johnson v.
Arteaga-Martinez, 596 U. S. 573, 584 (2022) (Thomas, J., con-
curring). Section 1252(b)(9) accordingly does not resolve
what it means for a court to “review” a fnal order of
removal.
IV
Finally, policy considerations cannot change our analysis.
The majority highlights that ruling against Monsalvo on ju-
risdictional grounds would lead to a curious result. We
would invite pointless litigation, the majority asserts, if we
held that § 1252 requires “an individual [to] include in his
petition some challenge to his `removability' from this coun-
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Thomas, J., dissenting
try.” Ante, at 721. But, even if true, this consequence is
beside
the point.
“[W]e must enforce the statute that Congress enacted.”
Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U. S. 466, 481
(2019). That means giving effect to Congress's decision in
§ 1252 to “substantially limi[t] the availability of judicial re-
view,” Nken v. Holder, 556 U. S. 418, 424 (2009), specifcally
by permitting review of “all questions of law . . . arising from
any action taken or proceeding brought to remove an alien”
only in the course of reviewing a “fnal order of removal.”
§§ 1252(a)(1), (b)(9). And, it means giving effect to Nasral-
lah's narrow reading of the term “fnal order of removal.”
In many cases, a petitioner will still be able to obtain judi-
cial review even under § 1252's “more restrictive” scheme.
AADC, 525 U. S., at 475. In Nasrallah, for example, the
Court understood its reading of “fnal order of removal” to
beneft Nasrallah. 590 U. S., at 582–583. But, the logic of
that decision applies just the same when its effect is to pre-
clude judicial review.
All this is not to say that § 1252 denies Monsalvo his day
in court. Perhaps, as the Government suggests, things
would have been different if he had also challenged the BIA's
reopening decision. Brief for Respondent 20. Or, perhaps
he could still pursue relief in non-removal-related litigation,
such as by fling suit under the Administrative Procedure
Act “after unsuccessfully seeking [the Government] to return
his voluntary departure bond or to adjust his status in the
country.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 32. But, we cannot “rewrite the
laws passed by Congress and signed by the President” to
shield Monsalvo from the consequences of his choice to chal-
lenge only the BIA's reconsideration decision. Nasrallah,
590 U. S., at 583.
***
Because “a congressional grant of jurisdiction is a prereq-
uisite to the exercise of judicial power” in this case, this
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Alito, J., dissenting
Court must carefully abide by Congress's jurisdictional stric-
tures.
Patchak, 583 U. S., at 254 (plurality opinion). We
thus should have vacated and remanded for the Tenth Cir-
cuit's consideration of the jurisdictional issue. Disregarding
Monsalvo's jurisdictional burden, the majority instead fnds
jurisdiction based on an unpersuasive theory of its own cre-
ation. I respectfully dissent.
Justice Alito, with whom Justice Kavanaugh joins,
dissenting.
I agree with Justice Thomas that the Court should re-
mand this case for the Court of Appeals to decide in the
frst instance whether it possessed jurisdiction to entertain
petitioner's petition for review. That case-specifc argument
was not raised below, and we did not grant review to decide
it. If forced to decide the jurisdictional question, however,
I would agree with Justice Thomas and Justice Barrett
that the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction. But because
the Court has rejected those jurisdictional arguments, I
write separately to explain why, in my view, the Court's anal-
ysis of the merits is wrong.
The merits question in this case—whether petitioner left
the United States within “60 days” after October 12, 2021—
is straightforward. The 60th “day” after October 12, 2021,
was Saturday, December 11, 2021. And petitioner failed to
depart the country by that Saturday. Saturday is a day of
the week, and there is no reason why petitioner could not
have left the country on or before that date. Petitioner
gives us no reason to believe—and I am aware of none—that
the roads to Mexico, his home country, were closed; so he
could have driven or taken a bus across the border. He also
could have fown to Mexico or any other country that would
admit him. Nevertheless, the Court holds that he was enti-
tled to a 2-day extension because the last day of his volun-
tary departure deadline happened to fall on a weekend.
There is no justifcation for that decision.
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Alito, J., dissenting
The Court is sympathetic to petitioner's plight, but the
rele
vant statutory provision, 8 U. S. C. § 1229c(b)(2), sets a
deadline, and no matter how such a deadline is calculated,
there will always be those who happen to miss it by a day
or so. And that will be true whether the deadline is always
60 days or is sometimes extended to 61, 62, or 63 days.
There will always be a sympathetic pro se alien
1
who is
a day or two late. Unless the Court is willing to extend
the statutory deadline indefnitely, it would presumably be
forced to say in such cases that a day too late is just too bad.
For this reason, sympathy for petitioner cannot justify the
Court's decision.
That is especially true because today's decision will affect
cases other than petitioner's. We have not been told how
many aliens who are granted voluntary departure are or-
dered to leave within a specifed number of days after the
date of the relevant order, but assuming that roughly the
same number of such orders are issued on each day from
Monday through Friday, it is probable that nearly half of the
departure deadlines in such cases will fall on a Saturday,
Sunday, or federal holiday. As a result, these individuals
will be given a windfall that is not enjoyed by most other
similarly situated aliens. As I shall explain, there is no good
reason for that disparate treatment.
I
“Voluntary departure” is part of a bargain that benefts
both the Government and an alien who is subject to removal.
When such an alien voluntarily leaves, the Government is
spared “the expense of deportation,” and the alien “avoids
extended detention,” “can select the country of destination,”
and—what is perhaps most important—avoids the restric-
1
The Immigration and Nationality Act uses the term “alien,” which is
defned as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.” 66
Stat. 166, 8 U. S. C. § 1101(a)(3). Thus, in the language of the Act, “alien”
and “noncitizen” are not synonymous.

750 MONSAL
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Alito, J., dissenting
tion on readmission that results from deportation. Dada v.
Mukasey
, 554 U. S. 1, 11 (2008). Federal immigration law
has permitted this mutually benefcial bargain for nearly a
century. See Alien Registration Act of 1940, 54 Stat. 672.
That bargain is effective only if the alien lives up to his
promise to depart, and in the past that promise was not al-
ways kept. For some time, voluntary departure agreements
did not include a specifc deadline, and some aliens who had
agreed to leave “ `continue[d] their illegal presence in the
United States for months, and even years.' ” Dada, 554
U. S., at 9 (quoting Letter from B. Habberton, Acting Com-
missioner on Immigration and Naturalization). In 1996,
Congress tried to fx that problem by enacting the statutory
deadline at issue here. It provides that—in typical circum-
stances—“[p]ermission to depart voluntarily . . . shall not
be va l id for a per i od exceedi ng 60 days. ” 8 U. S. C.
§ 1229c(b)(2). In compliance with this provision, the Board
of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued an order giving pe-
titioner “60 days to voluntarily depart . . . , the maxi-
mum period allowed by [§ 1229c(b)(2)].” App. to Pet. for
Cert. 40a.
We generally presume that terms used in statutes carry
the same meaning they have in ordinary usage. See Niz-
Chavez v. Garland, 593 U. S. 155, 160 (2021) (“When called
on to resolve a dispute over a statute's meaning, this Court
normally seeks to afford the law's terms their ordinary
meaning at the time Congress adopted them”). Therefore,
when interpreting the term “days” in § 1229c(b)(2), we should
start with the presumption that it means what it means in
ordinary usage: “a division of time equal to 24 hours and
representing the average length of the period during which
the earth makes one rotation on its axis.” Random House
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary 510 (2d ed. 2001). Satur-
days, Sundays, and holidays ft this defnition, so they pre-
sumptively qualify as “days” within the meaning of the stat-
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Alito, J., dissenting
ute. Is there any reason to fnd that this presumption is
overcome?
The
Court's answer is “yes” because, in its view, the term
“days,” as used in the voluntary departure provision, has
the special meaning that often applies in provisions that set
deadlines for fling papers in a court or government offce.
See, e. g., Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 6(a)(1)(C); Fed. Rule App.
Proc. 26(a)(1)(C). But the justifcation for this special rule—
the fact that fling papers in a court or government offce on
a weekend or holiday is often diffcult or impossible—has no
application where the task that must be accomplished may
be done just as easily on any day of the week. And that is
certainly the case here. Petitioner has not provided any
reason why he could not have departed on Saturday Decem-
ber 11 or Sunday December 12. He has not claimed, for ex-
ample, that his religion prohibited him from traveling on
either or both of those days. And on those days, he could
have left the United States by car, bus, or plane. So why
should anyone think that he was entitled to an extension
giving him, not the 60 days prescribed by statute, but an
extra two days? In the absence of some strong contrary
indication, “affected individuals and courts alike are entitled
to assume statutory terms bear their ordinary meaning.”
Niz-Chavez, 593 U. S., at 163. “[U]ntil and unless someone
points to evidence” that a statute bears an alternative, “spe-
cialized” meaning, we assume that the ordinary meaning con-
trols. Ibid. And there is nothing here that can overcome
that usual assumption.
II
A
The Court rejects the ordinary meaning of the statutory
language because, in its view, 8 U. S. C. § 1229c(b)(2) incorpo-
rated a “ `longstanding administrative construction' ” of the
term “days,” according to which a deadline in the immigra-
tion laws is taken to extend if the fnal day lands on a week-
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end or holiday. Ante, at 725. But this argument fails be-
cause
the regulatory defnition on which it rests applies by
its terms only to deadlines that appear in the immigration
regulations. When Congress enacted the voluntary depar-
ture deadline in 1996, the pertinent regulation stated that
“[t]he term day when computing the period of time for tak-
ing any action provided in this chapter”—that is, in the rele-
vant chapter of the regulations—“shall include Saturdays,
Sundays, and legal holidays, except that when the last day
of the period so computed falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a
legal holiday, the period shall run until the end of the next
day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, nor a legal holiday.” 8
CFR § 1.1(h) (1996) (emphasis added).
2
So even if Congress
had enacted this provision into law, it would not have af-
fected the meaning of § 1229c(b)(2).
In an effort to draw some support from this regulation,
the Court disregards its specifc terms and contends that it
embodied a broader rule for counting days that applies even
when the action that must be taken by the deadline can be
done just as easily on weekends and holidays as on ordinary
business days. It is doubtful, however, that the Court is
ready to embrace all the implications of this argument. The
term “days” appears numerous times in the immigration
laws. Does the Court think that every one of these provi-
sions incorporates its unorthodox counting rule? Consider,
for example, 8 U. S. C. § 1282(a), which provides that in most
instances an “alien crewman” may not be permitted to “land
temporarily in the United States” for more than 29 days.
Suppose that the 29th day is a Saturday. Does that mean
that the alien crewman may stay an additional two days?
There are many other si mi lar prov isi ons. See, e. g.,
§ 1187(a)(1) (permitting the waiver of the usual visa require-
ments for a tourist seeking entry for up to 90 days); § 1184(d)
2
A substantially identical defnition now appears in 8 CFR §§ 1.2 and
1001.1(h) (2024).

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753
Alito, J., dissenting
(requiring certain visa applicants to establish that they are
“ac
tually willing to conclude a valid marriage” to an identi-
fed citizen within 90 days of arrival); § 1101(a)(13)(C)(ii) (pro-
viding that an already admitted alien is regarded as seeking
admission if he has been absent from the United States for
“a continuous period in excess of 180 days”); § 1101(f )(7) (pro-
viding that an alien is not of “good moral character” if he
has been imprisoned, in a relevant timeframe, for an aggre-
gate period of 180 days or more).
If, as I assume, the Court does not mean to hold that its
unorthodox interpretation of the term “days” applies to
every immigration provision that contains that term, then
the most that might be said about the counting rule on which
it relies is that it is presumptively incorporated when its un-
derlying rationale—the impossibility or diffculty of compli-
ance on a weekend or holiday—is applicable. And if that is
so, that construction does not apply to the voluntary depar-
ture deadline.
I would view this case differently if it involved an adminis-
trative interpretation of a statute that contains a technical
term or a term that has a special meaning in a particular
industry. In United States v. Hill, 506 U. S. 546 (1993), for
example, we noted “well established” treasury regulations
that refected an “accepted distinction” between the terms
“mineral deposit” and “mineral enterprise,” at least for
the purpose of taxing certain mineral interests. Id., at 553–
554. And we assumed that Congress “relied” on that “ac-
cepted distinction” when it used the term “mineral deposit”
in a tax provision. Id., at 553. See also Corning Glass
Works v. Brennan, 417 U. S. 188, 201 (1974) (“[W]here Con-
gress has used technical words or terms of art, `it [is] proper
to explain them by reference to the art or science to which
they [are] appropriate' ”). Here, however, the critical term
is a commonplace word used countless times in everyday
speech.
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754 MONSAL
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Alito, J., dissenting
In sum, Congress had no reason to expect that the purely
reg
ulatory defnition of “day” was a “longstanding adminis-
trative construction” that would in any way bear on the
meaning of “day” in the voluntary departure provision.
B
Without support for its interpretation in ordinary lan-
guage or any special defnition that is applicable in a situa-
tion like the one at hand, the Court moves on to the pre-
sumption of consistent usage, i. e., the presumption that a
term has the same meaning throughout a statute. See Pow-
erex Corp. v. Reliant Energy Services, Inc., 551 U. S. 224,
232 (2007) (“[I]dentical words and phrases within the same
statute should normally be given the same meaning ” (em-
phasis added)). Invoking this presumption, the Court rea-
sons as follows: The term “days” appears not only in the pro-
vision fxing the deadline for voluntary departure, but also
in neighboring provisions that set certain fling deadlines.
Ante, at 726 (citing 8 U. S. C. § 1229a(c)(6)(B) (motion for re-
consideration of removal order “must be fled within 30 days
of the date of entry of a fnal administrative order of re-
moval”); § 1229a(c)(7)(C)(i) (motion to reopen removal pro-
ceedings “shall be fled within 90 days of the date of entry
of a fnal administrative order of removal”)). As the Court
notes, the Government concedes that those fling deadlines
extend to the next business day when the fnal day lands on
a weekend or holiday. Ante, at 726 (citing Brief for Re-
spondent 43–44). And the Court therefore concludes that the
same rule should apply to the voluntary departure deadline.
By citing the Government's concession about the fling
deadline provisions, the Court attempts to cloud the real
question, which is whether this Court should interpret the
term “days” in the fling provisions and the departure provi-
sion as having the same meaning or two different meanings.
After all, the mere fact that the Government believes that
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755
Alito, J., dissenting
the section's fling deadlines should extend when they land
on
a weekend or holiday does not bind us. Cf. Loper Bright
Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U. S. 369, 386–390, 412–413
(2024). And the Court's willingness to accept the Govern-
ment's interpretation of the relevant provisions is notably
selective. The Court eagerly adopts the Government's in-
terpretation of the fling provisions but rejects the Govern-
ment's position regarding the voluntary departure provision.
So, I repeat, the real question is what this Court should
hold regarding the meaning of the term “days” in the provi-
sions in question. We have three choices. First, we could
hold that “days” has its ordinary meaning in both the volun-
tary departure and the fling provisions. Second, we could
hold that the term has a specialized meaning—that it incor-
porates the rule that a deadline should extend when the fnal
day lands on a weekend or holiday—in all the provisions.
Or third, we could hold that the term “days” in the voluntary
departure provision has the term's ordinary meaning but
that the same term, as used in the fling provisions, has the
specialized meaning that often applies in provisions of that
kind.
The presumption of consistent usage cannot justify the
choice of the second option rather than the frst, and the
Court does not explain why its preferred option (number
two) is better than option three, which heeds the ordinary
meaning of the term “days” except where there is a reason
to adopt a specialized meaning. We presume that a term
has the same meaning in all provisions of a law, but the pre-
sumption can be overcome, and there is a strong argument
that it should be overcome here due to the unique rule that
has long been applied to many fling deadlines.
C
Notably, when faced with the possibility that its counting
rule might apply to every provision of the immigration laws

756 MONSAL
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Alito, J., dissenting
that includes the term “day,” the Court retreats from the
presumpti
on of consistent usage. It asserts that “different
statutes passed at different times against different regula-
tory backdrops may bear different meanings.” Ante, at 731,
n. 5. The Court agrees, then, that we must look at the spe-
cifc circumstances under which the fling and the voluntary
departure deadlines were enacted to determine whether the
term “day” should be given the same meaning in each
provision.
In this case, those circumstances support the inference
that Congress intended for the fling deadlines, but not the
voluntary departure deadline, to extend when the fnal day
lands on a weekend or holiday. As the Court notes, since at
least the 1950s, the immigration regulations have provided
that deadlines in the regulations are extended when the fnal
day falls on a weekend or holiday. See ante, at 725–726 (cit-
ing 8 CFR § 1.1(a)(6) (1958)). When Congress enacted the
statutory fling deadlines, it parroted fling deadlines that
already appeared in those regulations, and it did so at the
“recommendatio[n]” of the Executive Branch. Dada, 554
U. S., at 13–14. It is therefore quite possible that Congress
had the regulatory defnition of “day” in mind when it
enacted the statutory fling deadlines. The same, however,
cannot be said for the voluntary departure deadline because
it had no regulatory precursor.
The Court dismisses this important distinction by assert-
ing that “[e]xactly nothing in § 304 hints that deadlines found
there should operate differently.” Ante, at 729. But of
course, exactly nothing in § 304 says that “day” should be
given a specialized technical meaning either. The Court's
departure from ordinary meaning is premised on its view
that Congress adopted a “ `longstanding administrative con-
struction.' ” Ante, at 725. If the Court is going to look to
regulatory history to determine the meaning of the statute's
terms, it cannot simply close its eyes when that regulatory
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757
Alito, J., dissenting
history suggests that the voluntary departure deadline
shou
ld be treated differently.
3
D
The Court's fnal argument is that the fling and voluntary
departure deadlines are “intertwined” and that a uniform
interpretation is therefore “sensible.” Ante, at 730. Peti-
tioner, for example, was subject to both a deadline to volun-
tarily depart and a separate deadline to move to reopen his
removal proceedings. In reality, however, petitioner only
faces penalties for violating one of those deadlines: the 60-
day voluntary departure deadline. No one argues here that
petitioner was also at risk of missing his deadline to fle a
motion to reopen. After the BIA issued its order of October
12, petitioner had 90 days to move to reopen the removal
proceeding, see 8 U. S. C. § 1229a(c)(7)(C)(i), which meant he
had until January 10, 2022. He fled his motion well before
that date, so the fling deadline was not implicated in his
case. But because he had sought and had been granted the
opportunity to leave the country voluntarily, he was required
either to comply with the departure deadline or move to re-
open before that deadline. See § 1229c(d)(1)(B). By failing
to timely depart, petitioner became ineligible for relief from
removal, and his motion to reopen was destined to fail on the
merits. Ibid.
***
3
The Court contends that the Government implicitly accepted its under-
standing of the term “days” when it promulgated a regulation refecting
the voluntary departure deadline, see ante, at 726–727, but that is simply
not true. The regulation incorporating the voluntary departure deadline
provides that “[i]n no event can the total period of time [to voluntarily
depart], including any extension, exceed . . . 60 days as set forth in Section
240B of the Act.” 8 CFR § 1240.26(f ) (emphasis added). Thus, the regu-
lation pointedly notes that the voluntary departure deadline is governed
by the statute, not any regulation.

758 MONSAL
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Barrett, J., dissenting
The provision before us is straightforward. It provides
that
“[p]ermission to depart voluntarily . . . shall not be valid
for a period exceeding 60 days.” § 1229c(b)(2). Because I
see no reason to apply a “specialized” defnition of “day,” I
would take that language for what it's worth. “60 days”
means “60 days.”
I must therefore respectfully dissent.
Justice Barrett, with whom Justice Kavanaugh
joins, dissenting.
I agree with Justice Thomas that the Court is wrong
about jurisdiction, but my reasoning is different from his.
Justice Thomas would hold that “a `fnal order of removal'
refers only to the portion of an [Immigration Judge] or
[Board of Immigration Appeals] decision that fnds or orders
removability, not the entirety of that decision.” Ante, at 738
(dissenting opinion). Meanwhile, the Court seems to believe
that the entirety of an IJ or BIA decision fnding removabil-
ity is the “fnal order of removal.” Ante, at 722 (opinion of
the Court). In short, Justice Thomas and the Court dis-
agree about how much of the document issued by an IJ or
the BIA is open to challenge: The whole thing? Or just the
underlying conclusion that the noncitizen is removable?
I would leave that dispute for another day. In my view,
there is no need to debate the scope of the removal order,
because no matter how broadly you construe it, Monsalvo
does not dispute a single word in it.
The Tenth Circuit had jurisdiction if and only if Monsalvo's
petition for review sought “[ j]udicial review of a fnal order
of removal” under 8 U. S. C. § 1252(a). An “ `order of re-
moval' ” is an “order `concluding that the alien is deportable
or ordering deportation.' ” Nasrallah v. Barr, 590 U. S. 573,
579 (2020) (quoting § 1101(a)(47)(A)). Generally, an order is
entered by an IJ and becomes “fnal” if it is affrmed by the
BIA. § 1101(a)(47)(B)(i). This Court has held that nonciti-
zens may challenge (1) fnal orders of removal themselves;
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759
Barrett, J., dissenting
(2) certain orders brought alongside fnal orders of removal;
and
(3) rulings that affect the validity of fnal orders of re-
moval. See id., at 580–583. These three categories have
something in common: Each requires the noncitizen to con-
test some element of the fnal order of removal.
Yet Monsalvo did not dispute anything in the IJ and BIA
decisions fnding him removable. He asked the Tenth Cir-
cuit to review only the BIA's denial of his motion to recon-
sider its denial of his motion to reopen his removal proceed-
ings. (As these procedural twists and turns suggest, this
case comes to us in an idiosyncratic posture.) In his motion
to reconsider, Monsalvo had asked the BIA to revisit only its
opinion that he had fled his motion to reopen before the
expiration of the voluntary departure period—a view that
the BIA had expressed in its denial of Monsalvo's motion to
reopen. The decisions fnding him removable, however, did
not address how to count days under § 1229c(b)(2), much less
whether Monsalvo had overstayed his voluntary removal pe-
riod. So any way you slice it, Monsalvo's petition for review
did not seek “[ j]udicial review of a fnal order of removal”
under § 1252(a)(1). Proof ? Even after Monsalvo's victory
in this Court today, every word in the IJ and BIA decisions
fnding him removable remains legally valid.
I am unpersuaded by the Court's rationale for jurisdiction.
The Court attempts to reframe what is really a request for
clarifcation about the meaning of § 1229c(b)(2) as a “chal-
lenge” to a notice provision in the original voluntary depar-
ture order. Ante, at 719–722. But—even assuming that the
now-inoperative voluntary departure order has any rele-
vance at this stage—a request for clarifcation about the or-
der's meaning simply does not speak to the validity of the
order itself. See ante, at 745–746 (Thomas, J., dissenting).
The Court's only response is that my reading of § 1252(a)(1)
is inconsistent with § 1252(b)(9), also known as the “zipper
clause.” Ante, at 723–724. This argument is puzzling.
Section 1252(b)(9) provides that certain forms of judicial re-

760 MONSAL
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Barrett, J., dissenting
view “shall be available only in judicial review of a fnal order
under
this section.” It therefore underscores that judicial
review is available under § 1252(a)(1) only if there is a chal-
lenge to a “fnal order of removal.” And here, for the rea-
sons that I have explained, there is no such challenge.
In short, the Court has no answer to the most important
question: How can Monsalvo seek judicial review of his fnal
order of removal while conceding that his fnal order of re-
moval was lawful? He cannot, so the Tenth Circuit lacked
jurisdiction.*
***
The exact scope of a “fnal order of removal” has conse-
quences for a host of fact patterns besides the unusual one
before us, and because Monsalvo has not challenged any por-
tion of the IJ and BIA decisions fnding him removable, I
would leave the issue alone. Still, I share Justice Thom-
as's bottom line: The Court should not have addressed the
jurisdictional question at all, and, having forged ahead any-
way, it got the answer wrong. I respectfully dissent.
*At oral argument, the Government represented that Monsalvo had
other avenues for securing a judicial determination whether he had over-
stayed his voluntary departure period. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 32. Mon-
salvo could have asked the Department of Homeland Security to return
his voluntary departure bond or to adjust his immigration status; if DHS
had denied the request, then Monsalvo could have sought judicial review
of DHS's denial. Ibid.
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Reporter’s Note
The attached opinion has been revised to refect the usual publication
and citation style of the United States Reports. The revised pagination
makes available the offcial United States Reports citation in advance of
publication. The syllabus has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions
for the convenience of the reader and constitutes no part of the opinion of
the Court. A list of counsel who argued or fled briefs in this case, and
who were members of the bar of this Court at the time this case was
argued, has been inserted following the syllabus. Other revisions may
include adjustments to formatting, captions, citation form, and any errant
punctuation. The following additional edits were made:
p. 714, last line: “10” is changed to “9”
p. 716, line 13 from bottom: “by” is changed to “in”
p. 716, line 12 from bottom: “Judge” is changed to “Judge's order”
p. 720, line 17: “permitted” is deleted
p. 747, line 8 from bottom: “his” is inserted before “status”