Magdelano

MEMORANDUM

Cecilia Estela Santillan Del Magdelano, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing her appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying her applications for cancellation of removal, asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review de novo legal questions and for substantial evidence factual findings. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791-92 (9th Cir.2005). We deny in part and grant in part the petition for review.

The IJ denied Del Magdelano’s application for cancellation of removal on statutory grounds, and the BIA agreed, concluding that Del Magdelano was “precluded” from demonstrating good moral character under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (f) due to her false claim to U.S. citizenship at the border. We have jurisdiction to review that conclusion. See Gomez-Lopez v. Ashcroft, 393 F.3d 882, 884 (9th Cir.2005). The government’s contention that the moral character finding was based on agency discretion is not supported.

The agency’s good moral character conclusion is in error because 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (f) does not create a statutory bar on the basis of a…