Opinion ID: 71393
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: claim of ineffective waiver

Text: Jurisdiction to review Bekou’s appeal of the BIA’s March 4, 2009 order is proper in this court under section 242(a)(1) of the INA. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1), amended by the REAL ID Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-13, Div. B, § 106, 119 Stat. 231. With respect to Bekou’s claim that his waiver of appeal of the IJ’s final order was ineffective, jurisdiction in this court is proper even though Bekou failed to specifically raise the issue on appeal to the BIA. While “we refuse to saddle the BIA with the burden of identifying the substance of an immigration appeal[,] . . . [t]his is not to preclude the BIA from raising issues that the parties have seemingly abandoned, and should the BIA choose to do so, our exhaustion inquiry might be much different.” Omari v. Holder, 562 F.3d 314, 322 (5th Cir. 2009) (citing Lin v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 543 F.3d 114, 122-26 (3d Cir. 2008) (discussing the circuit split on the issue of exhaustion)). Furthermore, the exhaustion requirement “is not needlessly technical or formalistic[,]” and “requiring the fair presentation of a contested issue is sound policy.” Omari, 562. F.3d at 321.2 1 Because Bekou did not seek judicial review of the BIA’s June 30, 2009 order, we shall not consider it. See United States v. Narviz-Guerra, 148 F.3d 530, 537 (1998) (“[A]ll issues not briefed are waived.” (citation omitted)). For final removal orders, section 242(b)(1) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1), provides that a petition for judicial review “must be filed not later than thirty days after the date of the final order of removal.” See also Stone v. Immigration and Naturalization Serv., 514 U.S. 386, 405 (1995) (holding that “a deportation order is final, and reviewable, when issued,” and “[i]ts finality is not affected by the subsequent filing of a motion to reconsider”). 2 The Third Circuit has held that “[w]hile we would usually hold that a petitioner’s failure to present an issue to the BIA constituted a failure to exhaust, thus depriving us of jurisdiction to consider it,” where the BIA addresses and rules on the unraised issue sua sponte, we have jurisdiction to consider the petition for review because the BIA addressed the issue on the merits “thereby exhausting the issue.” Lin, 543 F.3d at 126. 3 Case: 09-60235 Document: 00511014041 Page: 4 Date Filed: 01/27/2010 No. 09-60235 With respect to Bekou’s waiver, we shall make our determination “only on the administrative record on which the order of removal is based,” and “the administrative findings of fact are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary.” 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252(b)(4)(A)-(B). In addition, we review factual determinations under the substantial evidence standard and will not reverse the BIA’s findings “unless the evidence is so compelling that no reasonable fact finder could fail to find otherwise.” LopezGomez v. Ashcroft, 263 F.3d 442, 444 (5th Cir. 2001) (internal quotations and citations omitted). The BIA found that Bekou had “not made an effective argument that his decision to waive appeal was not a knowing and intelligent one,” and accordingly, “the Immigration Judge’s decision became administratively final upon the respondent’s waiver of the right to appeal . . . .” Particularly, the BIA found that “[t]he hearing transcript includes the respondent’s testimony that he accepted the removal order and did not want to appeal with regard to any issue[,]” and “the Immigration Judge noted the appeal waiver at the bottom of his decision.” Moreover, because the waiver of appeal was plain on the record, the BIA was entitled to summarily dismiss his appeal. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(d)(2)(i)(G), (e)(3). Because Bekou has failed to introduce any evidence that his decision to waive appeal was not a knowing and intelligent one, we find that no “reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary” and accordingly, we affirm the decision of the BIA. 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252(b)(4)(A)-(B).