Yumul
Yumul v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Petitioner Yumul seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) denial of his motion to reopen deportation proceedings. We review for an abuse of discretion, INS v. Doherty, 502 U.S. 314, 323 , 112 S.Ct. 719 , 116 L.Ed.2d 823 (1992), and deny the petition for review.
Yumul failed to exhaust available administrative remedies before seeking judicial review of his deportation order. “Failure to raise an issue in an appeal to the BIA constitutes a failure to exhaust remedies with respect to that question and deprives this court of jurisdiction to hear the matter.” Vargas v. U.S. Dept. of Immigration and Naturalization, 831 F.2d 906, 907-08 (9th Cir.1987) (citation omitted).
Yumul relied on, but is not helped by, Socop-Gonzalesz v. INS. 272 F.3d 1176, 1183 (9th Cir.2001) (en banc). In SocopGonzalez, we held that even though a petitioner never specifically invoked the phrase “equitable tolling” in his briefs to the BIA, he had sufficiently exhausted his remedies below by pleading facts that could support a claim for equitable tolling. 272 F.3d at 1183-84 . Socop-Gonzalez had requested relief based on the doctrine of equitable estoppel, which we held was…