Kumar

MEMORANDUM ***

Elvin Nischal Kumar (“Kumar”), a native and citizen of Fiji, raises an ineffective assistance of counsel challenge to a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), dismissing his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of requests for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”).

In Kumar’s “Motion to Remand Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel” filed with the BIA, Kumar challenged the IJ’s ruling because of his prior counsel’s failure to introduce adequate evidence pertaining to country conditions in Fiji and Kumar’s past persecution and fear of future persecution there, but neither the motion nor the opening brief before the BIA challenged the finding that Kumar was convicted of “a particularly serious crime.” 2 That argument is therefore waived. See Ontiveros-Lopez v. INS, 213 F.3d 1121, 1124 (9th Cir.2000) (requiring an alien who argues ineffective assistance of counsel to exhaust his administrative remedies by first presenting the issue to the BIA).

Even assuming arguendo that the IJ’s findings on past persecution or fear of future persecution might be mistaken,…