Cano-Villatoro

Cano-Villatoro v. Holder

Good Law
358 F. App'x 917
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitDecember 14, 2009No. 06-75684California339 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

Wilman Ramiro Cano-Villatoro, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying his motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, and de novo claims of due process viola *918 tions in immigration proceedings. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791-92 (9th Cir.2005). We grant in part and deny in part the petition for review, and remand.

The BIA abused its discretion when it concluded that Cano-Villatoro failed to exercise the due diligence required for equitable tolling of the 90-day motions deadline. See Ghahremani v. Gonzales, 498 F.3d 993, 1000 (9th Cir.2007) (due diligence where petitioner repeatedly sought new counsel in pursuit of relief). Cano-Villatoro and his wife diligently pursued relief from removal from eight attorneys over a period of three years. See Albillo-DeLeon v. Gonzales, 410 F.3d 1090, 1099-1100 (9th Cir.2005) (the limitations period is tolled until the petitioner “definitively learns” of counsel’s fraud).

We agree with the BIA’s determination that former counsel’s…

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