Garcia-Rodrigues

MEMORANDUM ***

We limit our review in this appeal to a narrow question: whether the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) properly denied Jesus Garcia-Rodrigues’s (“Garcia-Rodrigues”) and Maria Guadalupe Gil de Garcia’s (“Petitioners”) motion to reopen. We review the BIA’s denial of Petitioners’ motion to reopen for an abuse of discretion. Socop-Gonzalez v. INS, 272 F.3d 1176, 1187 (9th Cir.2001)(en banc). Because the BIA did not abuse its discretion in this case, we deny the petition.

In Martinez-Zelaya v. INS, we explained that our review on appeal is “confined to the BIA’s decision and the bases on which the BIA relied.” 841 F.2d 294, 296 (9th Cir.1988). The BIA denied Petitioners’ motion to reopen on the sole ground that it was untimely filed under 8 C.F.R. § 3.2 (c)(2). 2 Petitioners’ sole argument contesting this determination is that the BIA lacked jurisdiction to institute removal proceedings against one of the petitioners, Garcia-Rodrigues, because of his pending Special Agricultural Worker (“SAW”) application. We rejected this argument in Yao v. INS, and held that “[w]hile an applicant may not be deported [while an SAW application is pending], no statutory or regulatory…