Javier Maravilla Maravilla Claudia Lopez Sanchez v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Javier Maravilla Maravilla (“Maravilla”) and his wife, Claudia Lopez Sanchez (“Lopez”), natives and citizens of Mexico, petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying their motion to reopen their applications for cancellation of removal, which was based on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. This court has jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (b)(2). We grant the petition and remand for further proceedings.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Petitioners are husband and wife, who were charged with being present in the United States without having been admitted or paroled. They hired attorney Miguel Gadda to represent them, admitted the charges, and applied for cancellation of removal. At their first hearing, however, Gadda failed to appear. The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) expressed frustration with Gadda’s performance — or rather, his lack thereof — and, along with counsel for the INS, advised petitioners as to what evidence they could present at the re-scheduled hearing.

Although Gadda did appear at the second hearing, petitioners’ application for cancellation of removal was denied. The IJ stated that Lopez had failed to provide…