IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 10-60203

Summary Calendar

JOHN ALEXANDER RODRIGUEZ, also known as John Alexander RodriguezBurgos,

Petitioner

v.

ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,

Respondent

Petition for Review of an Order of the

Board of Immigration Appeals

BIA No. A094 917 563

Before DAVIS, SMITH and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

*

John Alexander Rodriguez, a native and citizen of Colombia, petitions for

review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying his

motion to reopen his removal proceedings. Rodriguez moves to supplement the

record with updated documents. He also moves to consolidate this petition for

review with a prior petition for review. These motions are denied.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

F I L E D

November 23, 2010

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be *

published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.

R. 47.5.4.

Case: 10-60203 Document: 00511302125 Page: 1 Date Filed: 11/23/2010
No. 10-60203

Rodriguez argues that the BIA should have reopened his removal

proceedings based on information that, after Rodriguez was ordered removed,

his parents’ house in Colombia was firebombed by terrorists. He also argues

that he submitted evidence of changed country conditions that warranted the

reopening of his proceedings.

A motion to reopen should be based on new facts and must establish a

prima facie case of eligibility for the underlying relief sought in order to be

granted. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c); INS v. Abudu, 485 U.S. 94, 104 (1988). “In

determining whether evidence accompanying a motion to reopen demonstrates

a material change in country conditions that would justify reopening, [the BIA]

compare[s] the evidence of country conditions submitted with the motion to those

that existed at the time of the merits hearing below.” In re S-Y-G, 24 I. & N.

Dec. 247, 253 (BIA 2007). The evidence submitted by Rodriguez did not show a

change in conditions in Colombia since the time of his removal proceedings.

Rather, it showed that any individual in Colombia could be kidnapped at any

time for purposes of extortion or for use in trades for political prisoners. Nothing

in the evidence submitted by Rodriguez established a prima facie eligibility for

asylum or withholding of removal. See § 1003.2(c); Abudu, 485 U.S. at 104.

The BIA’s denial of Rodriguez’s motion to reopen was rational and founded

in the evidence submitted in support of that motion. Accordingly, that denial

was not an abuse of discretion. See Manzano-Garcia v. Gonzales, 413 F.3d 462,

469 (5th Cir. 2005). The BIA also held that, to the extent that Rodriguez’s

motion to reopen could be construed as a motion for reconsideration, the motion

was untimely and lacked merit. Rodriguez has clarified in this court that he was

seeking only to reopen his removal proceedings and that he was not seeking

reconsideration of the BIA’s order of removal.

Rodriguez’s petition for review is DENIED.

2

Case: 10-60203 Document: 00511302125 Page: 2 Date Filed: 11/23/2010