FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT June 4, 2018 _________________________________ Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court JUAN ANTONIO LOPEZ-GONZALEZ, Petitioner, v. Nos. 17-9507 & 17-9533 (Petitions for Review) JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS, III, United States Attorney General, Respondent. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT* _________________________________ Before BALDOCK, KELLY, and O’BRIEN, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Juan Antonio Lopez-Gonzalez petitions the court to review two orders by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). We dismiss his petition to review the BIA’s removal order for lack of jurisdiction, and we dismiss in part and deny in part his petition to review the BIA’s order denying reconsideration and reopening. * After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. I. Background Lopez is a Mexican citizen who first entered the United States in 1986 and has been a lawful permanent resident since 1992. In late 1993 or early 1994, when Lopez was 15 years old, he committed a heinous offense. According to Lopez, his girlfriend became pregnant and gave birth in a public bathroom. She encouraged Lopez to get rid of the baby, so he killed it by backing over it with a truck. To his credit, Lopez later confessed to his religious leaders and parents, and brought the crime to the attention of police. In 1996, he pled guilty to child abuse causing death and was sentenced to ten years in prison, suspended on the condition that he serve four years in the county jail and five years on probation. In 2012, more than a decade after Lopez completed his sentence, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began removal proceedings. An immigration judge (IJ) found Lopez to be removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) because his crime was one of moral turpitude, carried a sentence of more than a year, and was committed within five years after his 1992 admission to the United States. Nevertheless, the IJ later granted Lopez cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a).1 Despite the severity of the offense, the IJ exercised discretion in canceling removal because: 1) the crime occurred decades ago, 2) it may not have been discovered if Lopez had not come forward and confessed, 3) Lopez 1 That section allows cancellation when an alien has been a lawful permanent resident for five years, has lived in the country continuously for seven years after admission, and has not been convicted of an aggravated felony. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). 2 pled guilty and had successfully completed his sentence, 4) he ...
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