FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION SEP 20 2021 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT FRANK MIGUEL, No. 18-72280 Petitioner, Agency No. A205-323-485 v. MEMORANDUM* MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted September 2, 2021** San Francisco, California Before: RAWLINSON and BYBEE, Circuit Judges, and CARDONE,*** District Judge. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** The Honorable Kathleen Cardone, United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas, sitting by designation. Petitioner Frank Miguel (Miguel), a citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing his appeal of the denial of his applications for cancellation of removal, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).1 Miguel also challenges the denial of his motions for a continuance and for a remand, as well as his request for voluntary departure. 1. As a preliminary matter, Miguel asserts that the Immigration Judge (IJ) lacked jurisdiction to commence and conduct removal proceedings in his case because the Notice to Appear (NTA) omitted the address of filing. However, this argument is foreclosed by our recent decision in United States v. Bastide- Hernandez, 3 F.4th 1193 (9th Cir. 2021). See id. at 1196 (“[W]e now hold that when an NTA is filed, jurisdiction exists and vests with the immigration court”). 2. The BIA did not abuse its discretion in concluding that the IJ properly deemed Miguel’s application for cancellation of removal waived when he, through counsel, abandoned the application. See Taggar v. Holder, 736 F.3d 886, 889 (9th Cir. 2013) (reviewing for abuse of discretion). However, Miguel asserts that his counsel was ineffective in abandoning his application. Because the BIA did not 1 Miguel waived review of his CAT claim by failing to raise it in his Opening Brief. See Corro-Barragan v. Holder, 718 F.3d 1174, 1177 n.5 (9th Cir. 2013). 2 address Miguel’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim, we remand for it to address this claim in the first instance. See Coronado v. Holder, 759 F.3d 977, 987 (9th Cir. 2014), as amended.2 3. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that Miguel failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground. See Duran-Rodriguez v. Barr, 918 F.3d 1025, 1029 (9th Cir. 2019). Miguel failed to adduce credible, direct, and specific evidence in the record that “it is more likely than not that he would be subject to persecution on one of the specified grounds.” Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1190 (9th Cir. 2006) (citation omitted). In addition, Miguel failed to challenge the agency’s dispositive finding that he could internally relocate within Mexico to avoid persecution. See Duran-Rodriguez, 918 F.3d at …
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