Singh

Amrit Singh, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his motion to reopen deportation proceedings conducted in absen-tia. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, and review de novo questions of law. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791-92 (9th Cir.2005). We deny the petition for review.

Singh contends that this petition for review was rendered moot when he was deported from the United States because that deportation terminated these proceedings. See 8 C.F.R. §§ 245.1 (c)(8)(ii)(A), 245.2(a)(1). This contention fails because the government’s admittedly erroneous deportation of Singh did not constitute a “departure” within the meaning of the immigration laws. See Salgado-Diaz v. Gonzales, 395 F.3d 1158, 1164 (9th Cir.2005) (the term “ ‘departure’ in the immigration context excludes departures illegally executed by the government”); see also Mendez-Alcaraz v. Gonzales, 464 F.3d 842, 844 (9th Cir.2006) (under IIRIRA’s permanent rules, the court has jurisdiction over a petition for…