Ivanov

MEMORANDUM *

Ivan Ivanov, a native and citizen of Bulgaria, petitions for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) summarily affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) denial of Ivanov’s application for asylum and withholding of *132 removal. Ivanov contends that the IJ’s denial of his request for a continuance to obtain counsel deprived him of his statutory and due process rights to counsel at his own expense, constituting an abuse of discretion. Ivanov also argues that the IJ’s method of conducting the asylum hearing deprived Ivanov of due process, particularly his right to present evidence on his own behalf and his right to a hearing before a neutral fact-finder.

The BIA properly found that the IJ’s denial of the continuance did not violate Ivanov’s right to obtain counsel or constitute an abuse of discretion. The IJ’s conduct at Ivanov’s asylum hearing did not rise to the level of a due process violation. We deny the petition for review.

I

An alien in removal proceedings has a statutory and Fifth Amendment due process right to be represented by counsel at his own expense. See 8 U.S.C. § 1362 ; 1 Orantes-Hernandez v. Thornburgh, 919 F.2d 549, 554…