McBarango

MEMORANDUM

Charles McBarango (“McBarango”), a native and citizen of Nigeria, petitions for review of a decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The BIA upheld the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) determination that McBarango had been convicted of an aggravated felony that was also a particularly serious crime, thus rendering him ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal. The BIA also upheld the IJ’s ruling that McBarango did not prove that it was more likely than not that he would be persecuted for his political beliefs upon his return to Nigeria, thus denying deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture.

McBarango argues, for the first time in his petition for review, that errors by his second and third attorneys prejudiced his removal hearing and his appeal to the BIA. Because McBarango has not previously raised this claim with the BIA, we dismiss the claim for failure to satisfy the administrative exhaustion requirement. See Ontiveros-Lopez v. INS, 213 F.3d 1121, 1124 (9th Cir.2000).

McBarango also argues that the BIA erred in denying his request to continue his appellate proceedings while he awaited disposition of his wife’s next-relative…