Majeed

MEMORANDUM ***

Balag Abdul Majeed, a native and citizen of Pakistan, petitions for review from the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying Majeed relief un *243 der the Convention Against Torture (CAT). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(4), and we deny the petition for review.

As a threshold matter, we note that Majeed did not appeal the IJ’s decision to the BIA, but rather directly petitioned this court for review of the order of removal. Ordinarily, that would mean he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies and that we should dismiss his petition. See Zara v. Ashcroft, 383 F.3d 927, 930-31 (9th Cir.2004). The record here, however, indicates the BIA had previously reversed the IJ’s decision and remanded solely for compliance with Molina-Camacho v. Ashcroft, 393 F.3d 937, 941 (9th Cir.2004) (holding that only the IJ has the authority to issue an order of removal), overruled by Lolong v. Gonzales, 484 F.3d 1173, 1178 (9th Cir.2007) (en banc). Because the remand and subsequent entry of an order of removal were ministerial, we agree with the parties that it would have been an empty gesture for Majeed to have appealed the same issue to the BIA.…