Singh

MEMORANDUM ***

Hardeep Singh, a native and citizen of India, appeals the Board of Immigration Appeal’s (“BIA”) summary dismissal of his appeal due to Singh’s failure to adequately state the reasons for the appeal on Form EOIR-26 and for his failure to provide a brief as he indicated on the appeal form. Because the parties are familiar with the factual and procedural history of the case, we will not recount it here except as necessary to explain our disposition. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (b), and we affirm the BIA’s decision.

On appeal, Singh argues that he should be granted asylum. However, the BIA did not reach the merits of Singh’s claims when it summarily dismissed the appeal. In Martinez-Zelaya v. INS, 841 F.2d 294, 296 (9th Cir.1988), we explained that our “review is confined to the BIA’s decision and the bases upon which the BIA relied.” Thus, we review only the BIA’s summary dismissal of Singh’s appeal.

The BIA based its summary dismissal on 8 C.F.R. § 3.1 (d)(1—a)(i)(A) and (E) (1998). 1 The BIA was correct in dismissing the appeal because Singh’s counsel failed to adequately specify the legal or factual basis for the appeal. In stating reasons for the…