Ricardo Ayala-Negrete v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Ricardo Ayala-Negrete appeals from a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the BIA’s denial of his motion to reopen. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we affirm.

Ayala-Negrete admits that he falsely claimed United States citizenship in an attempt to gain entry at the border on August 13, 2001. He is therefore inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(6)(C)(ii). Ayala-Negrete argues that this ground of inadmissibility does not apply because he timely retracted his false claim to the first border patrol agent to whom the claim was made. However, a retraction made when disclosure of the falsity is imminent is untimely and does not purge the taint. Valadez-Munoz v. Holder, 623 F.3d 1304, 1309-10 (9th Cir.2010). Ayala-Negrete’s retraction was not made until the agent ordered him to pull over for further questioning, a point at which disclosure of the falsity was imminent. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that the retraction was untimely. See Li-anhua Jiang v. Holder, 754 F.3d 733, 738 (9th Cir.2014).

Ayala-Negrete’s other contentions are unavailing. First, because an immigrant who falsely…