Summary
This Third Circuit Court of Appeals opinion reviews the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of asylum, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture protection, and cancellation of removal for a Mexican national. The court dismisses the unexhausted claims for asylum, withholding, and CAT protection due to waiver, and denies the petition for cancellation of removal because substantial evidence supports the finding that multiple DUI convictions preclude a finding of good moral character. The court also rejects the petitioner's Fifth Amendment due process claim regarding the exclusion of witness testimony.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the BIA erred in deeming Sanchez's asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT claims waived for lack of exhaustion.
- Whether the BIA erred in finding Sanchez lacked the requisite good moral character for cancellation of removal.
- Whether the BIA erred in rejecting Sanchez's Fifth Amendment due process claim.
Holdings
- The BIA did not abuse its discretion; the waiver was proper and the claims are unreviewable because Sanchez failed to exhaust administrative remedies.
- The BIA’s determination was supported by substantial evidence; Sanchez’s multiple DUI convictions preclude a finding of good moral character, and the court will not review the discretionary denial.
- The BIA properly rejected the claim because Sanchez failed to demonstrate substantial prejudice from the exclusion of his wife’s and psychologist’s testimony.
Factual background
Sanchez, born in Mexico in 1997, entered the United States illegally in 2000. Between 2019 and 2021 he was convicted of multiple DUI offenses in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He was detained in June 2023 as removable under 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(6)(A)(i) and subsequently applied for asylum, withholding of removal, CAT protection, and cancellation of removal. The Immigration Judge denied all relief, and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed, finding waiver of the first three claims and lack of good moral character for cancellation.
Procedural history
Sanchez was ordered removed by an Immigration Judge who denied his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, CAT protection, and cancellation of removal. He appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which dismissed the appeal, deeming the asylum, withholding, and CAT claims waived for lack of exhaustion and affirming the denial of cancellation of removal based on lack of good moral character. Sanchez then filed a petition for review in this Court.