Bartolo Vivenzi-De La Cruz v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Bartolo Giovanni Vivenzi-De La Cruz, a native and citizen of Colombia, petitions for review of a final order of removal. Even though our jurisdiction is limited because petitioner is removable for having committed aggravated felonies and controlled substance violations, we have jurisdiction to consider the questions of law raised by petitioner. 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(D); Prakash v. Holder, 579 F.3d 1033, 1035 (9th Cir.2009). We deny the petition for review.

We reject petitioner’s argument that the Board either failed to consider his Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) deferral of removal claim or erred when it held that petitioner had waived his claim in the first appeal. Because petitioner filed appeal briefs with the Board, we look to the briefs, not the notices of appeal, to determine whether petitioner exhausted his claims. Abebe v. Mukasey, 554 F.3d 1203, 1208 (9th Cir.2009) (per curiam en banc). The first appeal brief merely mentioned that petitioner had applied for CAT relief. The second appeal brief only mentioned the reason for the asylum application in the context of a § 212(c) waiver argument. It did not mention torture or CAT. Neither statement put the…