Ituarte-Olivas

MEMORANDUM **

Hugo Ituarte-Olivas, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of a final order issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) determination that he failed to establish his eligibility for relief under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). We deny the petition for review.

DISCUSSION

The CSPA, Pub.L. No. 107-208, 116 Stat. 927 (2002), was enacted “to provide age-out protection for aliens who were children (under 21) at the time a petition for permanent resident status was filed on their behalf.” Ochoa-Amaya v. Gonzales, 479 F.3d 989, 992 (9th Cir.2007). Prior to the CSPA, children lost their eligibility for such relief when they turned twenty-one and their application had not yet been acted upon. See Padash v. INS, 358 F.3d 1161, 1167 (9th Cir.2004). Thus, the “laudable purpose of this [Act] is to prevent children of United States citizens from ‘aging out’ while waiting for consideration....” Ochoa-Amaya, 479 F.3d at 991 . The CSPA applies to individuals who had applications pending on August 6, 2002, the effective date of the Act. See Padash, 358 F.3d at 1173 .

Olivas claims a petition was filed on his behalf…