Zambrano-Sanchez
Zambrano-Sanchez v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Alicia Zambrano-Sanchez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision dismissing her appeal from an Immigration Judge’s (“U”) decision finding her statutorily ineligible for suspension of deportation. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § llOSafe). 1 We review the constitutionality of a statute de novo, Ram v. INS, 243 F.3d 510, 516 (9th Cir.2001), and we deny the petition.
The BIA correctly concluded that Zambrano-Sanchez was statutorily ineligible for suspension of deportation because she was placed in exclusion, rather than deportation, proceedings. See Castillo-Magallon v. INS, 729 F.2d 1227, 1228 (9th Cir. 1984).
We reject as unpersuasive ZambranoSanchez’s contention that former INA section 244, 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1) (repealed 1996), violates equal protection because it treats individuals in deportation proceedings differently than those in exclusion proceedings. See Ram, 243 F.3d at 517 (explaining that legislative classifications in the context of immigration satisfy equal protection if they are rationally related to a legitimate government purpose).