Calva
Calva v. Gonzales
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Angel Calva-Calva, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from the immigration judge’s denial of his application for cancellation of removal.
Petitioner contends that his equal protection rights were violated because he could not apply for suspension of deportation relief but instead could only apply for cancellation of removal. Petitioner fails to present a meritorious equal protection constitutional challenge. Petitioner was charged with removal on April 13, 2004, which was well after IIRIRA’s April 1, 1997 effective date, and therefore petitioner suffered no detrimental reliance on the pre-IIRIRA rules. See INS v. St. Cyr, *582 533 U.S. 289, 321-26 , 121 S.Ct. 2271 , 150 L.Ed.2d 347 (2001); see also Jimenez-An-geles v. Ashcroft, 291 F.3d 594, 602 (9th Cir.2002) (there are no “settled expectations” based on “transactions or considerations already past” where alien merely presents herself to INS in hopes of being prosecuted before the effective date of IIRIRA.). For individuals placed in removal proceedings after April 1, 1997, suspension of deportation is not available. See 8 U.S.C. §…