Juan Pacheco-Garcia v. Loretta Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Juan Pablo Pacheco-Garcia, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) removal order denying his request for a continuance. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion for a continuance, and review de novo questions of law. Ahmed v. Holder, 569 F.3d 1009, 1012 (9th Cir. 2009). We deny in part and grant in part the petition for review.

The agency did not abuse its discretion in denying Pacheco-Garcia’s request for a fourth continuance where he did not demonstrate good cause. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.29 ; Ahmed, 569 F.3d at 1012 (factors considered in determining whether the denial of a continuance constitutes an abuse of discretion include the nature of the evidence excluded as a result of the denial). In addition, the agency’s denial of a continuance to seek new counsel did not violate Pacheco-Garcia’s right to counsel, where the IJ had deemed his application for relief abandoned. See Ram v. Mukasey, 529 F.3d 1238, 1242 (9th Cir. 2008) (an IJ may “determine, in the absence of a showing of good cause…