Abdullah Al-Fakih v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Abdullah Mohammed Nasser Al-Fakih petitions this Court for review of two decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the “Board”). In 2002, Al-Fakih applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. An immigration judge (“U”) denied his application, and the Board affirmed in a per curiam decision. Al-Fakih did not petition for review of that decision.

In 2011, Al-Fakih moved to reopen those proceedings, claiming that circumstances in Yemen had changed such that he was entitled to relief. The Board denied the motion and Al-Fakih petitioned our Court for review. While that petition was pending, Al-Fakih filed a second motion with the Board to reconsider its denial of the motion to reopen. The Board denied the motion to reconsider and Al-Fakih again petitioned for review. We have jurisdiction over the consolidated petitions un der 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a), and we deny the petitions.

Our review is for abuse of discretion and is limited to those grounds explicitly relied upon by the Board. Najmabadi v. Holder, 597 F.3d 983, 986-87 (9th Cir. 2010); Morales Apolinar v. Mukasey, 514 F.3d 893, 895 (9th Cir. 2008).

1. Motion to…