NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________ No. 20-2866 ___________ SANTOS E. ELIAS AGUILAR, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ____________________________________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. A204-758-242) Immigration Judge: Jason L. Pope ____________________________________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) April 23, 2021 Before: MCKEE, SHWARTZ and RESTREPO, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: July 8, 2021) ___________ OPINION * ___________ PER CURIAM Santos Elias Aguilar, proceeding pro se, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) summarily dismissing his appeal. For the reasons * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. that follow, we will deny the petition. Aguilar is a native and citizen of Guatemala who entered the United States in 2007 at the age of 13. In 2019, he was charged with removability pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B), for remaining in the United States for a time longer than permitted. Aguilar conceded the charge, as well as the allegations in the Notice to Appear, which included a criminal conviction for contempt and pending criminal charges. The Immigration Judge (IJ) sustained the charge of removability. Aguilar filed an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. He also sought discretionary cancellation of removal. After a hearing, the IJ issued a decision denying all relief. Aguilar appealed the IJ's decision to the BIA. In his notice of appeal (NOA), filed on March 2, 2020, Aguilar did not specify any legal or factual basis for his appeal. He indicated that he was unable to prepare a brief because he did not have a written copy of the IJ’s oral decision, but that he would be “submitting a brief at a schedule [sic] date.” A.R. at 74. A briefing schedule was issued on May 14, 2020, indicating that briefs had to be submitted to the BIA by June 4, 2020. On June 9, 2020, Aguilar filed a submission with the BIA, which included a letter requesting an extension of time to file a brief. In that letter, Aguilar, who was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and held at the Essex County Correctional Facility (ECCF), maintained that the law library was closed due to COVID-19, and therefore he could not access a typewriter. A.R. at 14. The submission was returned to Aguilar as “unfiled” because it did not include proof of service. Aguilar sent the same submission back to the BIA with a 2 certificate of service, which he asserted was indeed part of his initial submission. He provided various documents in support of his appeal, but he did not include any arguments addressing the IJ’s decision. The Board issued a decision denying the extension request and summarily dismissing the appeal based on Aguilar’s failure to specify his reasons for the appeal on Form EOIR–26, see 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(d)(2)(i)(A), …
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