Mei Cao v. Mukasey

MEMORANDUM **

Mei Cao, a native and citizen of the People’s Republic of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying her second motion to reopen removal proceedings, in which she was ordered removed in absentia. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for abuse of discretion, Singh v. INS, 213 F.3d 1050, 1052 (9th Cir.2000), and we grant the petition for review in part, deny it in part, and remand.

The BIA abused its discretion in rejecting Cao’s contention that she was not provided proper written notice of the hearing she missed. The BIA reaffirmed its pri- or, incorrect determination that Cao was personally served with the notice of hearing and, as a consequence, did not properly consider the allegations in Cao’s affidavit. See Celis-Castellano v. Ashcroft, 298 F.3d 888, 892 (9th Cir.2002) (allegations in alien’s affidavit supporting motion to reopen must be accepted as true unless inherently unbelievable). Moreover, the BIA’s decision does not indicate that it considered factors we have held are relevant: the sufficiency of the government’s evidence supporting the government’s contention that the notice of hearing was…