Sulardy Gonzalez v. U.S. Attorney General


Case: 17-15427 Date Filed: 12/19/2018 Page: 1 of 4 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 17-15427 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A094-889-030 SULARDY GONZALEZ, FRANCISCO JAIME ROCHA MARTIN, Petitioners, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (December 19, 2018) Before MARTIN, JILL PRYOR, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 17-15427 Date Filed: 12/19/2018 Page: 2 of 4 Sulardy Gonzalez seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of her motion to reopen its final order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on behalf of herself and her then- husband Franscisco Rocha. She argues that the BIA abused its discretion by denying her motion as time- and number-barred without considering whether equitable tolling applied. She also argues that the BIA abused its discretion by not exercising its authority to reopen her case sua sponte. I. We review the BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen removal proceedings for an abuse of discretion. Zhang v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 572 F.3d 1316, 1319 (11th Cir. 2009). This review is limited to determining whether the BIA exercised its discretion in an arbitrary or capricious manner. Id. We review de novo our subject matter jurisdiction. Ruiz v. Gonzales, 479 F.3d 762, 765 (11th Cir. 2007). We lack jurisdiction to review final orders in immigration cases unless “the alien has exhausted all administrative remedies available to the alien as of right.” Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) § 242(d)(1), 8 U.S.C. § 1252(d)(1). If a petitioner has failed to exhaust her administrative remedies by not raising an issue before the BIA, we lack jurisdiction 2 Case: 17-15427 Date Filed: 12/19/2018 Page: 3 of 4 to consider the claim. Amaya-Artunduaga v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 463 F.3d 1247, 1250 (11th Cir. 2006). We may grant a petition for review, vacate an agency decision, and remand for further proceedings if the agency’s decision is “so lacking in reasoned consideration and explanation that meaningful review [is] impossible.” Indrawati v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 779 F.3d 1284, 1302 (11th Cir. 2015). In a reasonable consideration inquiry, we look “to ensure that the IJ and the BIA considered the issues raised and announced their decisions in terms sufficient to enable review.” Id. A claim that a BIA decision lacked reasonable consideration does not need to be exhausted before the BIA, because the claim cannot exist until after the BIA issues its ruling. See id. at 1299. However, the BIA does not err by not considering an argument the petitioner does not make before it. See Jeune v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 810 F.3d 792, 802 (11th Cir. 2016) (noting in the context of a reasoned consideration challenge that “it is hard to understand how [Jeune] can fault [the agency] for its failure to intuit ...

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