Sazar Dent v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner, a native of Honduras, appeals the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona granting the Government’s motion for summary judgment as to Petitioner’s nationality, due process, and equal protection claims. Petitioner also challenges the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) finding him eligible for removal on the grounds that he committed an aggravated felony. We have jurisdiction over this case under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (b)(5). We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Oswalt v. Resolute Indus., Inc., 642 F.3d 856, 859 (9th Cir.2011).

Petitioner asserts that INS’s delay in handling the naturalization application filed by his mother on his behalf in 1983 and the naturalization application he filed on his own behalf in 1986 amounts to a due process violation. The district court did not address the merits of this argument, finding the cause of delay irrelevant under the then-current legal precedent. However, subsequent to the district court’s ruling, this circuit issued Brown v. Holder, 763 F.3d 1141 (9th Cir.2014), holding that a petitioner may be able to establish a claim to citizenship if he…