Crecencio Olea-Ramos v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Crecencio Olea-Ramos, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) 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. Meza-Vallejos v. Holder, 669 F.3d 920, 923-24 (9th Cir.2012). We deny the petition for review.

The BIA did not abuse its discretion by denying for lack of prejudice Olea-Ramos’s motion to reopen based on his prior attorney’s failure to file an appellate brief challenging the immigration judge’s denial of cancellation of removal. See Serrano v. Gonzales, 469 F.3d 1317, 1319 (9th Cir. 2006) (“To assert a valid due process ineffective assistance of counsel claim, a petitioner must demonstrate prejudice; namely, he must show that he has ‘plausible grounds for relief.’” (citation omitted)). Because Olea-Ramos is statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal on account of his prior act of alien smuggling, he is unable to establish plausible grounds for this relief. See Sanchez v. Holder, 560 F.3d 1028, 1032 (9th Cir.2009) (en banc) (“[Ajlien smugglers are one of the classes of…