RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 19a0145p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT GILBERTO PABLO LORENZO, ┐ Petitioner, │ │ > No. 18-3606 v. │ │ │ WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, │ Respondent. │ ┘ On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals; No. A 096 151 319. Decided and Filed: July 9, 2019 Before: CLAY, GILMAN, and KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ON BRIEF: Chelsea E. HaleyNelson, HALEYNELSON & HEILBRUN, LLP, Oakland, California, for Petitioner. Matthew B. George, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. CLAY, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which GILMAN, J., joined. KETHLEDGE, J. (pg. 16), delivered a separate dissenting opinion. _________________ OPINION _________________ CLAY, Circuit Judge. Gilberto Pablo Lorenzo appeals the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying his motion to reopen based on changed country conditions and ineffective assistance of counsel. We have jurisdiction over Pablo’s appeal under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1). Because the BIA failed to properly evaluate Pablo’s undisputed, No. 18-3606 Pablo Lorenzo v. Barr Page 2 reasonably specific evidence, and because it applied the wrong legal standards with respect to his motion to reopen based on changed country conditions, we reverse and remand to the BIA to reconsider whether Pablo has demonstrated changed country conditions under the correct evidentiary and legal standards. However, we affirm the BIA’s denial of Pablo’s motion based on ineffective assistance of counsel because Pablo has failed to demonstrate that he acted with due diligence, as required to succeed on this claim. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY1 Pablo was born in 1985 in Todos Santos Cuchumatan, a small town in the Huehuetenango province in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. An indigenous Guatemalan, Pablo speaks the Mam language and minimal Spanish. Pablo lived in Guatemala until August of 2001 when he fled to the United States after being violently abused by his stepfather. Pablo settled with his brother in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A friend suggested that he see Lidia Marquez, who purportedly could help Pablo obtain papers that would enable him to remain in the United States. Lidia told Pablo that she could assist him, but not until Pablo sent her $500. Pablo did not understand much of what Lidia said because she only spoke Spanish, but Pablo trusted her and sent her the funds. Lidia helped Pablo prepare forms and, ultimately, obtain an interview with immigration officials, but said she could no longer assist Pablo after he received a letter requiring him to attend an immigration hearing in Detroit. Lidia told Pablo to obtain an attorney to represent him during the court proceeding. Pablo then contacted “Elias,” a purported attorney in Holland, Michigan, who had been recommended to Pablo by a friend. Elias stated that he was an attorney and charged Pablo $500 to represent him. Pablo’s first court date was scheduled for early 2003 in Detroit. Elias failed to show up. The court did not have a ...
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