Case: 19-60225 Document: 00515687740 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/29/2020 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED December 29, 2020 No. 19-60225 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Brandon Mendoza-Flores, Petitioner, versus Jeffrey A. Rosen, Acting U.S. Attorney General, Respondent. Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A200 287 425 Before Haynes, Higginson, and Oldham, Circuit Judges. Stephen A. Higginson, Circuit Judge: Brandon Mendoza-Flores, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions this court for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) in a withholding-only proceeding. The BIA affirmed denial of his motions for (1) continuance pending resolution of his T visa application, (2) withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), and (3) deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), and dismissed his appeal. Following the BIA’s decision, Mendoza-Flores’s T visa application was denied and he was removed to Case: 19-60225 Document: 00515687740 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/29/2020 No. 19-60225 Mexico. Because this court can no longer grant Mendoza-Flores any effectual relief, we dismiss his petition as moot. I. Mendoza-Flores initially entered the United States in February 2012 while being paid to transport marijuana. U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended him, and a removal order was issued. Subsequently, in April 2012, Mendoza-Flores pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(D) and was sentenced to 180 days in prison. He admitted to being paid to transport approximately 23 kilograms of marijuana. This offense qualifies as an “aggravated felony” within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43). See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B); 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2); 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(D). After completing his sentence, Mendoza-Flores was removed to Mexico in August 2012. He reentered the United States in November 2012 but was stopped by U.S. immigration authorities and voluntarily returned to Mexico. He reentered a third time just a few weeks later. In April 2018, U.S. immigration agents encountered Mendoza-Flores, detained him, and reinstated the February 2012 expedited removal order. The reinstatement notice stated that Mendoza-Flores was prohibited from reentering the United States for life due to his aggravated-felony conviction. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(9)(A)(i). After Mendoza-Flores told immigration officers that he feared returning to Mexico, an asylum officer determined that Mendoza-Flores had established a reasonable fear of torture. The Department of Homeland 2 Case: 19-60225 Document: 00515687740 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/29/2020 No. 19-60225 Security (“DHS”) referred the case to an immigration judge (“IJ”) for “withholding-only proceedings.” Mendoza-Flores’s withholding-only merits hearing was held on October 3, 2018. At the beginning of the hearing, Mendoza-Flores requested a continuance pending the resolution of his application for T nonimmigrant status (“T visa”). His counsel explained that he had filed a T visa application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) on February 6, 2019, that was still pending. The IJ issued an oral decision on October 18, 2019, denying Mendoza-Flores’s ...
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