Chindia

MEMORANDUM ***

Ernest Njukeng Chindia, a native and citizen of Cameroon, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of his motion to reopen deportation proceedings to reconsider his application for suspension of deportation and to permit him to reapply for asylum. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a) and we apply the transitional rules. Kalaw v. INS, 133 F.3d 1147,1149-50 (9th Cir.1997). We review for abuse of discretion the BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen. INS v. Doherty, 502 U.S. 314, 323-24 , 112 S.Ct. 719 , 116 L.Ed.2d 823 (1992). We deny the petition for review.

Chindia moved the BIA to reopen to consider evidence that he had a well-founded fear that he would be persecuted if he returned to Cameroon, and argued that this satisfied the extreme hardship requirement for eligibility for suspension of deportation and demonstrated prima facie eligibility for asylum. The BIA did not abuse its discretion when it denied Chindia’s motion because the evidence he offered was previously available, he did not offer a reasonable explanation for his failure to present it at his merits hearing, and he did not allege changed country conditions. See…