Kumar
Kumar v. Gonzales
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Ashok Kumar and his wife, both ethnic Indians and citizens of Fiji, seek review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of their motion to reopen their asylum and withholding of removal proceedings.
We review the BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen for abuse of discretion. Rodriguez-Lariz v. INS, 282 F.3d 1218, 1222 (9th Cir.2002). Here, the Kumars merely submitted two unsigned, undated letters; two brief news articles regarding the situation in Fiji; and an unsigned, unsworn statement allegedly written by Ashok Kumar. In light of this sparse and unsubstantiated supporting documentation, the BIA did not act “arbitrarily, irrationally, or contrary to the law” in denying the *815 Kumars’ motion. See Lainez-Ortiz v. INS, 96 F.3d 393, 395-96 (9th Cir.1996). The Kumars failed to support their motion with affidavits or other evidentiary material that was unavailable and could not have been discovered or presented at the former hearing. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2 (c)(1). Moreover, the supporting documentation failed to establish prima facie eligibility for the underlying substantive relief requested by the Kumars. See Mendez-Gutierrez v. Ashcroft, 340 F.3d 865,…