Court Opinion

ID: 9908897
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-12 01:00:48.2075+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:49:38.241098
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-60328         Document: 00516997101             Page: 1      Date Filed: 12/11/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________                             United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit

                                       No. 23-60328                                   FILED
                                     Summary Calendar                         December 11, 2023
                                     ____________                                Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                      Clerk
   Obed Cortez-Albarron,

                                                                                 Petitioner,

                                             versus

   Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General,

                                                                               Respondent.
                      ______________________________

                         Petition for Review of an Order of the
                             Board of Immigration Appeals
                               Agency No. A075 218 002
                      ______________________________

   Before Elrod, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Obed Cortez-Albarron, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for
   review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying
   his motion to reopen removal proceedings. As relevant here, the BIA
   determined that the motion was untimely and that Cortez-Albarron did not
   meet the standards for equitable tolling.

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-60328      Document: 00516997101          Page: 2   Date Filed: 12/11/2023

                                    No. 23-60328

          We review the BIA’s decision to deny a motion to reopen “under a
   highly deferential abuse-of-discretion standard.” Ovalles v. Rosen, 984 F.3d
   1120, 1123 (5th Cir. 2021) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
   And in considering the BIA’s decision, we review legal conclusions de novo
   and factual findings for substantial evidence. Id. (citations omitted).
          Cortez-Albarron’s challenge to the BIA’s denial of equitable tolling
   fails. Equitable tolling may be granted only if Cortez-Albarron demonstrates
   “(1) that he has been pursuing his rights diligently, and (2) that some
   extraordinary circumstance stood in his way and prevented timely filing.”
   Mejia v. Barr, 952 F.3d 255, 259 (5th Cir. 2020) (internal quotation marks
   and citation omitted).      “But ‘reasonable diligence’ means ‘within a
   reasonable time.’ It does not mean ‘within a reasonable time but only when
   you think you can win.’” Id. Here, Cortez-Albarron’s equitable tolling claim
   stems from his becoming the beneficiary of his son’s approved I-130 petition.
   But that circumstance came about only after Cortez-Albarron remained in
   the United States for close to 20 years in violation of a previous order of
   voluntary departure, during which time his son reached the age of eligibility
   to file the I-130 petition. Thus, the BIA did not abuse its discretion in
   determining that under the facts presented, Cortez-Albarron failed to make
   the requisite showing for equitable tolling. See id.
          Accordingly, the petition for review is DENIED.

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