Argueta Castillo v. Blanche

Summary

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied Norberto Leonardo Argueta Castillo's petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of his application for cancellation of removal. The court held that the agency properly considered the asserted aggregate hardship to Castillo's two U.S. citizen daughters and that the record did not establish exceptional and extremely unusual hardship under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1)(D).

Holdings

1. Under Wilkinson v. Garland, the court may not review the facts underlying an agency determination on cancellation of removal and may review only the agency's application of the exceptional-and-extremely-unusual-hardship standard to the given facts. Because the review is deferential, the court may not disturb the agency's factual findings concerning the daughters' medical conditions or the availability of medical care in Guatemala.
2. The agency is not required to provide commentary on every piece of evidence, address every factor identified in precedent, or dissect every contention in minute detail. The agency did not commit legal error because its decisions addressed the material categories of evidence and did not turn a blind eye to salient facts.
3. The agency properly determined that Argueta Castillo had not shown that removal would cause his daughters exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. The agency considered the relevant evidence in the aggregate, including the daughters' health, education, country conditions, access to treatment, family finances, and relocation prospects.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the agency committed legal error by failing to consider relevant evidence and hardship factors in adjudicating cancellation of removal.
2. Whether the agency's explanation was insufficient because it did not expressly discuss every circumstance and piece of evidence identified by the petitioner.
3. Whether the agency erred in determining that the aggregate hardship to the petitioner's daughters would not be exceptional and extremely unusual.

Disposition

denied