Albaro Elias Tista v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

Albaro Elias Tista, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) denial of his application for special rule cancellation of removal. In 1999, Elias applied under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) for special rule cancellation of removal on the basis that he was so entitled because he was a child whose father had been granted special rule cancellation of removal under NACARA. However, the BIA determined that Elias did not meet NA-CARA’s definition of a child at the time that his father was granted relief, and that the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) did not apply to him. Elias asserts that the BIA erred and that its decision violated his due process right to equal protection of the law. We deny the petition.

BACKGROUND

Elias, who was born in January 1979, applied for special rule cancellation of removal in September 1999, about four months before his twenty-first birthday. He stated:

Elias entered the United States in January 1997 and his NACARA-eligible parent was his father, Tomas Elias Perez.

Elias’ father was granted legal permanent residency under NACARA in March 2006.…