21-6164

Perez Miguel v. Garland

BIA

A097 535 038

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

SUMMARY ORDER

RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY 

ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF 

APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT=S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY 

ORDER IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL 

APPENDIX OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY ORDER”). A PARTY 

CITING A SUMMARY ORDER MUST SERVE A COPY OF IT ON ANY PARTY NOT REPRESENTED BY 

COUNSEL.

1 At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second 

2 Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley 

Square, in the City of New York, on the 7 3 th day of July, two thousand twenty4 two.

5

6 PRESENT:

7 RICHARD J. SULLIVAN,

8 BETH ROBINSON,

9 MYRNA PÉREZ,

10 Circuit Judges.

11 _____________________________________

12

13 MARIA ANGELA PEREZ MIGUEL,

14 Petitioner,

15

16 v. 21-6164

17 NAC

18 MERRICK B. GARLAND, UNITED 

19 STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL,

20 Respondent.

21 _____________________________________
2

1

2 FOR PETITIONER: Bruno J. Bembi, Hempstead, NY.

3 

4 FOR RESPONDENT: Chad A. Readler, Acting Assistant Attorney 

5 General; Leslie McKay, Senior Litigation 

6 Counsel; Rachel Browning, Trial Attorney, 

7 Office of Immigration Litigation, United 

8 States Department of Justice, Washington, 

9 DC.

10

11 UPON DUE CONSIDERATION of this petition for review of a Board of 

12 Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND 

13 DECREED that the petition for review is DENIED.

14 Petitioner Maria Angela Perez Miguel, a native and citizen of Guatemala, 

15 petitions for review of the BIA’s February 26, 2021 denial of her motion to 

16 reconsider its prior decision affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) denial of 

17 asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture 

18 (“CAT”) and rejecting her claim to have received ineffective assistance of counsel 

19 before the IJ. In re Maria Angela Perez Miguel, No. A097 535 038 (B.I.A. Feb. 26, 

20 2021). We assume the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts and 

21 procedural history.

22 We review the BIA’s denial of reconsideration for abuse of discretion. See 

23 Jin Ming Liu v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 109, 111 (2d Cir. 2006). A motion to reconsider 
3

1 “shall specify the errors of law or fact in the previous order.” 8 U.S.C. 

2 § 1229a(c)(6)(C); see 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(b)(1); Ke Zhen Zhao v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 265 

3 F.3d 83, 90 (2d Cir. 2001) (“A motion to reconsider asserts that at the time of the 

4 Board’s previous decision an error was made.” (quotation marks omitted)). “A

5 motion to reconsider based on a legal argument that could have been raised earlier 

6 in the proceedings will be denied.” In re O-S-G-, 24 I. & N. Dec. 56, 58 (B.I.A. 

7 2006). “The BIA does not abuse its discretion by denying a motion to reconsider 

8 where the motion merely repeats arguments that the BIA has previously rejected.” 

9 Khan v. Gonzales, 495 F.3d 31, 36 (2d Cir. 2007) (quotation marks and brackets 

10 omitted).

11 The BIA did not abuse its discretion in declining to reconsider its prior 

12 decision because Perez Miguel raised arguments that either (1) could have been 

raised in earlier proceedings or (2) were raised and rejected on appeal to the BIA. 13 1

14 See 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(6); 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(b)(1); Khan, 495 F.3d at 36; In re O-S-G-, 

15 24 I. & N. Dec. at 58. The BIA also did not err in rejecting Perez Miguel’s 

1 Even assuming arguendo that the BIA erred in finding that Perez Miguel had waived her 

challenge to the proposed social group of “Guatemalan wom[e]n who [were] raped and later

threatened,” ROA at 215, remand on that basis would be futile in light of the alternative adverse 

credibility determination, which was dispositive of her asylum and withholding of removal 

claims. See Gurung v. Barr, 929 F.3d 56, 62 (2d Cir. 2019) (explaining that remand is futile “when 

the [agency] articulates an alternative and sufficient basis for her determination” (quotation 

marks omitted)).
4

1 ineffective assistance of counsel claim because she did not comply with the 

2 procedural requirements for raising such claims as laid out in Matter of Lozada, 19 

3 I. & N. Dec. 637 (B.I.A. 1988). See Jian Yun Zheng v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 409 F.3d 43, 

4 46–47 (2d Cir. 2005) (“[A]n alien who has failed to comply substantially with the 

5 Lozada requirements . . . before the BIA forfeits her ineffective assistance of counsel 

6 claim in this Court.”). 

7 For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is DENIED. All pending 

8 motions and applications are DENIED and all pending stays are VACATED.

9 FOR THE COURT: 

10 Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe,

11 Clerk of Court 

12

13