Filed: Mar. 05, 2020
Latest Update: Mar. 05, 2020
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 19-2644 _ DIEGO ANTONIO SACOTO RIVERA, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _ On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA-1 No. A094-241-106 Immigration Judge: Dorothy Harbeck _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) March 2, 2020 Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, HARDIMAN and KRAUSE, Circuit Judges (Opinion Filed: March 5, 2020) _ OPINION _ * This disposition is
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 19-2644 _ DIEGO ANTONIO SACOTO RIVERA, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _ On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA-1 No. A094-241-106 Immigration Judge: Dorothy Harbeck _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) March 2, 2020 Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, HARDIMAN and KRAUSE, Circuit Judges (Opinion Filed: March 5, 2020) _ OPINION _ * This disposition is ..
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
_____________
No. 19-2644
_____________
DIEGO ANTONIO SACOTO RIVERA,
Petitioner
v.
ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent
___________________________
On Petition for Review
from the Board of Immigration Appeals
BIA-1 No. A094-241-106
Immigration Judge: Dorothy Harbeck
_______________________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)
March 2, 2020
Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, HARDIMAN and KRAUSE, Circuit Judges
(Opinion Filed: March 5, 2020)
_______________________
OPINION
_______________________
*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does
not constitute binding precedent.
SMITH, Chief Judge.
Diego Sacoto-Rivera petitions for review of a decision by the Board of
Immigration Appeals (BIA). For the reasons that follow, we will deny the petition.
I.
Sacoto-Rivera, a native of Ecuador, entered the United States in 2001 and
overstayed his admission period. He was charged as removable in 2008, and the
BIA ultimately ordered his removal. In August 2012, this Court denied his petition
for review of the BIA’s final order of removal. See Sacoto-Rivera v. Att’y Gen.,
499 F. App’x 148, 150 (3d Cir. 2012).
More than five years later, Sacoto-Rivera moved to reopen his immigration
proceeding. On May 29, 2018, the BIA denied the motion because it did not
demonstrate exceptional circumstances and because it was untimely filed and not
subject to equitable tolling. Sacoto-Rivera did not petition this Court for review.
Instead, on June 28, 2018, Sacoto-Rivera submitted to the BIA a motion to
reconsider the order denying reopening. The BIA rejected Sacoto-Rivera’s motion
for failure to include a certificate of service. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(g)(1)
(requiring proof of service). The BIA’s rejection notice stated, inter alia, that the
rejection “DOES NOT EXTEND THE ORIGINAL STRICT TIME LIMIT” and
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instructed that a corrected motion “should include a request that the Board accept
the motion by certification.” AR 50;1 see 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(c) (regarding
certification). The notice further specified that “[t]he Board will consider whether
to certify each request in the exercise of discretion.” AR 50.
Sacoto-Rivera re-sent the motion with a certificate of service on July 20,
2018, “respectfully request[ing] to honor the date of the initial filing of this
motion” but making no request to accept the motion by certification. AR 49. The
BIA received the motion on July 24, 2018. On June 20, 2019, the BIA denied the
motion as untimely filed and because it “fail[ed] to indicate any error in law or
fact, or argument that was overlooked, in our prior decision.” JA 7.
Sacoto-Rivera timely filed this petition for review.
II.
We have jurisdiction to review the BIA’s order denying the motion to
reconsider pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a). See Borges v. Gonzales,
402 F.3d 398,
404 (3d Cir. 2005). We review such an order for abuse of discretion.
Id. We will
disturb the BIA’s decision if it was “arbitrary, irrational, or contrary to law.”
Id.
1
“AR” refers to the Administrative Record, while “JA” refers to the Joint
Appendix.
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A.
The BIA determined that the motion to reconsider “d[id] not demonstrate
that [Sacoto-Rivera] qualifies for any exception to the time and number filing
requirements imposed on motions to reconsider.” JA 6; see 8 C.F.R.
§ 1003.2(b)(2) (“A motion to reconsider a decision must be filed with the Board
within 30 days after the mailing of the Board decision. . . . A party may file only
one motion to reconsider any given decision.”). Sacoto-Rivera claims this
constitutes an abuse of discretion. Although he concedes he did not file a
compliant motion to reconsider until after the thirty-day filing period had expired,
he argues that the motion “was timely submitted but for the oversight regarding the
certificate of service which was cured in an expeditious manner and in accordance
with the Board’s instructions.” Pet’r Br. 30.
Sacoto-Rivera did not request the BIA to accept the untimely motion by
certification, and even if he had, the BIA retained the discretion to deny it. See AR
50. Sacoto-Rivera has failed to demonstrate that the BIA’s timeliness
determination is “arbitrary, irrational, or contrary to law.” See
Borges, 402 F.3d at
404.
Moreover, the BIA also concluded that the motion to reconsider lacked
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merit. The BIA determined Sacoto-Rivera’s motion reiterated arguments that the
BIA had rejected in its denial of reopening and did not establish errors of fact or
law warranting reconsideration. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(b)(1) (“A motion to
reconsider shall state the reasons for the motion by specifying the errors of fact or
law in the prior Board decision.”). Sacoto-Rivera offers no basis to disturb this
aspect of the BIA’s decision.
Accordingly, the denial of the motion was not an abuse of discretion.
B.
Sacoto-Rivera’s remaining claims concern the denial of his motion to
reopen. Sacoto-Rivera did not file a petition for review of that decision, however,
so that decision is not before us. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1) (a “petition for review
must be filed not later than 30 days after the date of the final order of removal”);
Stone v. INS,
514 U.S. 386, 398 (1995) (motion to reconsider does not toll running
of filing period for review of BIA’s underlying removal order); Castro v. Att’y
Gen.,
671 F.3d 356, 364 (3d Cir. 2012) (“An adverse BIA decision on the merits
(and accompanying order of removal) and a BIA order denying a motion to
reconsider are two separate final orders.” (citation omitted)). Sacoto-Rivera’s
claims concerning the motion to reopen therefore will not be considered.
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III.
For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review will be denied.
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