Gordon Straker v. Eric Holder, Jr.
Gordon Straker v. Eric Holder, Jr.
Opinion
Gordon Anthony Straker, a native and citizen of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, seeks a petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) order denying his motion to reopen his removal proceedings. The BIA concluded that Straker’s motion, which was his second motion to reopen, was untimely and number-barred. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(7); 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c)(2). He argues that the Supreme Court’s decision in Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, — U.S. —, 130 S.Ct. 2577, 177 L.Ed.2d 68 (2010), undermined the grounds for the BIA’s removal order because it established that his prior misdemeanor drug convictions did not qualify as aggravated felonies. Straker also asserts that the state’s classification of his offenses as misdemeanors is controlling and that his convictions were too remote to be the bases for the denial of his request for relief.
Straker does not challenge the BIA’s determination that his second motion to reopen was untimely or time-barred. Instead, he presents arguments that concern the validity of the BIA’s January 2007 order of removal. Thus, because Straker has not addressed the basis on which his second motion to reopen was denied, he has abandoned the relevant issue for review by failing to brief it. See Soadjede v. Ashcroft, 324 F.3d 830, 833 (5th Cir. 2003). His petition for review is DENIED.
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.