Amezquita Garcia v. Ashcroft

MEMORANDUM *

Gloria Amezquita Garcia (“Amezquita”) seeks review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) order summarily affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her suspension of deportation, a denial based on a failure to prove good moral character and extreme hardship. Amezquita argues that her counsel before the IJ was ineffective and that the BIA erred in streamlining her case. We deny the petition.

The record supports Amezquita’s charges that her counsel before the IJ, Jeremy Frost, was inadequate as he (1) presented almost no evidence on her behalf; (2) showed up to hearings without her file; (3) failed to conduct an adequate criminal record check; (4) repeatedly mailed her notices to the wrong address; (5) never met or contacted her except immediately prior to hearings; and (6) charged her $400 for a hearing only to then seek a delay because of his own scheduling conflict.

Despite the appalling representation that Frost provided, Amezquita cannot establish a due process violation because she cannot show that “the outcome of the proceeding may have been affected by the alleged violation.” Munoz v. Ashcroft, 339 F.3d 950, 955 (9th Cir.2003) (Court of Appeals…