Alejandro Rodriguez-Rodriguez v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Alejandro Rodriguez-Rodriguez (“Rodriguez”) petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The BIA affirmed the decision of the Immigration Judge to deny Rodriguez’s application for a waiver of inadmissibility under § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (c). Rodriguez contends that the cases relied on by the BIA are unconstitutional. In the alternative, Rodriguez contends that he is eligible to apply for § 212(c) relief under current law.

I

Rodriguez contends that Abebe v. Mukasey, 554 F.3d 1203 (9th Cir.2009) (en banc), contradicts existing Supreme Court precedent and that its application in his case deprives him of due process. Rodriguez further contends that the law as it existed at the time of his plea was Tapia-Acuna v. INS, 640 F.2d 223 (9th Cir.1981), and he invites us to evaluate his case as if Tapia-Acuna had not been overruled by Abebe . This we decline to do. While we may overrule prior circuit authority if the Supreme Court has “undercut the theory or reasoning underlying the prior circuit precedent in such a way that the cases are clearly irreconcilable,” Rodriguez does not offer any…