Mario Lua Quintero v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Mario Lua Quintero, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from a decision of an immigration judge (“IJ”) denying his motion to continue his removal proceedings. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. Reviewing for abuse of discretion the agency’s denial of a motion to continue, Sandoval-Luna v. Mukasey, 526 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2008) (per curiam), we deny the petition for review.

The agency did not abuse its discretion by denying Lua Quintero’s motion to continue to wait for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to adjudicate his request for prosecutorial discretion, because he failed to demonstrate good cause for a continuance. See Singh v. Holder, 638 F.3d 1264, 1274 (9th Cir.2011) (“[A]n IJ ‘may grant a motion for continuance for good cause shown.’ ” (citation omitted)). Lua Quintero had already received one prior continuance for this purpose, he had conceded the charge of inadmissibility and his ineligibility for all relief from removal except voluntary departure, DHS opposed an additional continuance, and the basis for the motion remained a mere speculative…