Singh v. Garland
Singh v. Garland
Opinion
FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION OCT 18 2023 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
SURJIT SINGH No. 22-1454
Petitioner, Agency No. A095-592-019
v.
MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney MEMORANDUM* General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted October 16, 2023** Phoenix, Arizona
Before: IKUTA, BADE, BRESS, Circuit Judges.
Surjit Singh seeks review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals
(BIA) denying his motion to reopen his removal proceedings. We have
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1), see Wenqin Sun v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 802, 805 (9th Cir. 2009), and deny the petition for review.
The BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that Singh’s motion to
reopen was untimely and that Singh failed to show that an exception applied due to
changed country conditions in India. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(7)(C)(ii). Singh
failed to establish a material change in country conditions because the new
evidence that Singh submitted with his motion does not show that the current risk
of harm toward persons who, like Singh, are engaged in low-level political
activities, is qualitatively different from the risk of harms that such individuals
faced at the time of Singh’s initial proceedings. Therefore, Singh has failed to
establish a material change in country conditions. See Hernandez-Ortiz v.
Garland, 32 F.4th 794, 805 (9th Cir. 2022); Agonafer v. Sessions, 859 F.3d 1198, 1204 (9th Cir. 2017). The evidence Singh presents of his changed personal
circumstances does not establish the materiality of the changed country conditions
and is insufficient on its own to satisfy the changed country conditions exception.
See Rodriguez v. Garland, 990 F.3d 1205, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2021). In the absence
2 of an exception to the 90-day time limit for filing a motion to reopen, the BIA did
not err in denying Singh’s motion to reopen as untimely.1
PETITION DENIED.
1 Because we deny the petition based on the BIA’s determination that Singh failed to establish a material change in country conditions and therefore his motion to reopen was untimely, we do not address Singh’s challenge to the BIA’s determination that Singh failed to establish prima facie eligibility for asylum. See Toufighi v. Mukasey, 538 F.3d 988, 996 (9th Cir. 2008). The BIA did not violate Singh’s right to due process by failing to address whether Singh established prima facie eligibility for asylum, because the BIA expressly addressed that claim. 3
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished