Blanca Carreon-Borjas v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Blanca Estela Carreon-Borjas, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying her motion to reopen removal proceedings based on ineffective assistance of counsel. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, and review de novo claims of due process violations. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791-92 (9th Cir.2005). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

The BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Carreon-Borjas’ motion to reopen alleging ineffective assistance by the attorney who represented her before the agency, where she failed to comply with the threshold requirements of Matter of Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. 637 (BIA 1988), and the alleged ineffective assistance was not “plain on the face of the administrative record.” See Castillo-Perez v. INS, 212 F.3d 518, 525 (9th Cir.2000). Although Carreon-Borjas stated for the first time in her affidavit attached to the motion to reopen that she initially entered the United States in 1997, there is no evidence in the record that she informed her former counsel of…