NOT FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

EZEQUIEL LOPEZ ARGUELLES, 

Petitioner, 

 v. 

MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney 

General, 

Respondent.

No. 20-73633 

Agency No. A215-857-744 

MEMORANDUM*

On Petition for Review of an Order of the

Board of Immigration Appeals

Submitted December 14, 2021**

Before: WALLACE, CLIFTON, and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges. 

Ezequiel Lopez Arguelles, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for

review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal 

from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his applications for asylum, 

withholding of removal, relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), and 

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent 

except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision 

without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

FILED

DEC 22 2021

MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
2 20-73633 

cancellation of removal. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We 

review factual findings for substantial evidence. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 

1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We review de novo questions of law and claims of 

due process violations in immigration proceedings. Padilla-Martinez v. Holder, 

770 F.3d 825, 830 (9th Cir. 2014). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition 

for review.

The record does not compel the conclusion that Lopez Arguelles established 

changed or extraordinary circumstances to excuse his untimely asylum application. 

See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(2)(D); 8 C.F.R. § 1208.4(a)(4)-(5). Thus, his asylum claim 

fails. 

Lopez Arguelles does not make any argument challenging the dispositive 

determination that he failed to establish a nexus to a protected ground. See 

Martinez-Serrano v. INS, 94 F.3d 1256, 1259-60 (9th Cir. 1996) (issues not 

specifically raised and argued in a party’s opening brief are waived). Thus, his 

withholding of removal claim fails. 

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s denial of CAT relief because Lopez 

Arguelles failed to show it is more likely than not he will be tortured by or with the 

consent or acquiescence of the government if returned to Mexico. See Aden v. 

Holder, 589 F.3d 1040, 1047 (9th Cir. 2009).
3 20-73633 

Lopez Arguelles’s contentions that the BIA engaged in improper factfinding in assessing his cancellation of removal claim fail as unsupported by the 

record, where the BIA properly reviewed the IJ’s factual findings regarding which 

child was in therapy for clear error and the BIA’s analysis contains no other facts 

that are inconsistent with the facts found by the IJ. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(d)(3)(i)-

(ii) (BIA reviews IJ’s factual findings for clear error and discretionary 

determinations de novo); Ridore v. Holder, 696 F.3d 907, 917-19 (9th Cir 2012)

(explaining clear error review process). We otherwise lack jurisdiction to review 

the discretionary determination that Lopez Arguelles failed to show exceptional 

and extremely unusual hardship to a qualifying relative for purposes of 

cancellation of removal. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i); Martinez-Rosas v. 

Gonzales, 424 F.3d 926, 930 (9th Cir. 2005). 

The temporary stay of removal remains in place until issuance of the 

mandate. 

PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part; DISMISSED in part.