NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 21a0495n.06 No. 20-4194 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED ) 10/28/2021 JOSE MARTINEZ-ACOSTA, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) Petitioner, ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW ) FROM THE UNITED STATES v. ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION ) APPEALS MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, ) ) Respondent. ) Before: MOORE, KETHLEDGE, and DONALD, Circuit Judges. KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge. Jose Martinez-Acosta, a citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of a final order of removal entered by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Specifically, he challenges the Board’s determination that he was ineligible for cancellation of removal. We dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction. Martinez-Acosta entered the United States without inspection in 1998. During the years 2005 to 2008, police cited Martinez-Acosta four times for operating a vehicle without a license, and on various occasions cited him for speeding, failure to wear a seatbelt, and failure to produce proof of insurance. In January 2008, Martinez-Acosta was convicted of disorderly conduct; in June 2010, he was convicted of failure to pay court-ordered child support. The next month, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against him. Case No. 20-4194, Jose Martinez-Acosta v. Merrick B. Garland Martinez-Acosta thereafter applied for cancellation of his removal, but DHS closed his removal proceedings before an immigration judge could rule on his cancellation request. Police later cited Martinez-Acosta for speeding in November 2015 and for failure to report his involvement in a February 2016 automobile accident. In November 2017, Martinez-Acosta was convicted of driving while intoxicated. Less than two years later, police arrested him again for operation of a vehicle while intoxicated; and he later pled guilty to the lesser charge of operation of a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property. A month later, DHS moved to resume Martinez-Acosta’s removal proceedings. An immigration judge thereafter held hearings to consider Martinez-Acosta’s still-pending request for cancellation of removal. During those hearings, Martinez-Acosta admitted that—in addition to his 2017 conviction and 2019 arrest for driving while intoxicated—he drove a vehicle into a tree on another occasion after drinking “three or four” beers. Martinez-Acosta and other family members also testified about the serious consequences that his removal would impose on his family, particularly one of his sons. The IJ denied Martinez-Acosta’s request for cancellation, finding that he had failed to establish “good moral character” and was therefore ineligible for cancellation of removal. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(f). The IJ also found that Martinez-Acosta was ineligible for that relief on the ground that he was a “habitual drunkard.” See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(f)(1). Finally, the IJ determined that, even if Martinez-Acosta were eligible for cancellation of removal, the IJ would deny that relief as a matter of discretion. Martinez-Acosta appealed to the Board, which adopted the IJ’s holding that Martinez-Acosta was ineligible for cancellation of removal because he had failed to establish good moral character. This petition for review followed. 2 Case No. 20-4194, Jose Martinez-Acosta v. …
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