Roberto Garcia-Rosales v. Jefferson Sessions

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Roberto Garcia-Rosales v. Jefferson Sessions, 703 F. App'x 526 (9th Cir. 2017)

Roberto Garcia-Rosales v. Jefferson Sessions

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Alvaro Rivas-Pineda, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying his motion to reopen removal proceedings. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen. Avagyan v. Holder, 646 F.3d 672, 674 (9th Cir. 2011). We deny the petition for review.

The BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Rivas-Pineda’s motion to reopen for failure to establish that he was prejudiced by the alleged ineffectiveness of his prior attorney where the BIA addressed issues on appeal despite them not being raised in Rivas-Pineda’s brief, and where the BIA previously considered and rejected his purportedly new social group and also denied relief on a separate dispositive ground. See Iturribarria v. INS, 321 F.3d 889, 899 (9th Cir. 2003) (“To show a deprivation of due process caused by ineffective assistance of counsel, the alien must show that counsel’s ineffective performance prejudiced h[im].”) (citation omitted).

Because the prejudice determination is dispositive, we do not reach Rivas-Pineda’s remaining contentions regarding compliance with Matter of Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. 637 (BIA 1988), or prior counsel’s performance. See Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 538 (9th Cir. 2004) (courts and agencies are not required to decide issues unnecessary to the results they reach).

PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.

**

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

Reference

Full Case Name
Alvaro RIVAS-PINEDA, Petitioner, v. Jefferson B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General, Respondent
Status
Unpublished