Camacho Garcia v. Ashcroft

MEMORANDUM **

Ruben Camacho Garcia, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming an immigration judge’s (“I J”) denial of his application for cancellation of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . Where the BIA reviews the IJ’s decision de novo, our review is limited to the BIA’s decision, except to the extent that the IJ’s opinion is expressly adopted. See Shah v. INS, 220 F.3d 1062, 1067 (9th Cir.2000). We review de novo due process challenges, Lopez-Urenda v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 788, 791 (9th Cir.2003), and we deny the petition for review.

Assuming arguendo that the IJ erred in denying Camacho Garcia a continuance when his counsel failed to appear at his hearing, and that the counsel’s failure to appear constituted ineffective assistance of counsel, the BIA properly determined that Camacho Garcia was not prejudiced, because his daughter took the stand and testified to the hardship removal would cause. See Iturribarria v. INS, 321 F.3d 889, 901-03 (9th Cir.2003). Accordingly, Camacho Garcia fails to demonstrate how the alleged violation affected the outcome of the proceedings. See…