Sologuren

MEMORANDUM **

Dr. Santiago Sologuren, his wife Jeanette, and his son Pablo (“Petitioners”), natives and citizens of Peru, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of their combined motion for reconsideration and motion to reopen proceedings in which the BIA denied Petitioners’ application for asylum and withholding of deportation. We apply the transitional rules under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, and we have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a). See Rodriguez-Lariz v. INS, 282 F.3d 1218, 1222-23 (9th Cir.2002). We review the BIA’s denial of motions to reopen or to reconsider for abuse of discretion, although de novo review applies to the BIA’s determination of purely legal questions. Cano-Merida v. INS, 311 F.3d 960, 964 (9th Cir.2002). We grant the petition for review.

In their 1998 motion for reconsideration, Petitioners identified errors of law and fact in the BIA’s decision denying asylum, and they pointed to pertinent Ninth Circuit authority concluding that the Shining Path had an extensive and ongoing impact in Peru. See 8 C.F.R. 3.2(b)(1) (1998); Ve larde v. INS, 140 F.3d 1305 , 1312 n. 6 (9th…