Escobedo-Molina v. Garland


Case: 22-60256 Document: 00516601245 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/06/2023 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 22-60256 Summary Calendar FILED January 6, 2023 Lyle W. Cayce Alejandro Escobedo-Molina, Clerk Petitioner, versus Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General, Respondent. Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Agency No. A092 085 989 Before Higginbotham, Graves, and Ho, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Alejandro Escobedo-Molina, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (BIA) decision denying his motion to reopen or reconsider removal proceedings. We review the BIA’s legal conclusions de novo and, where the agency has applied the correct law, we review the denial of reconsideration or reopening under a highly * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 22-60256 Document: 00516601245 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/06/2023 No. 22-60256 deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. Gonzalez Hernandez v. Garland, 9 F.4th 278, 283 (5th Cir. 2021), cert. denied, No. 21-1323, 2022 WL 4651375 (U.S. Oct. 3, 2022). On appeal, Escobedo-Molina argues that, in violation of his due process rights and in an abuse of the agency’s discretion, the BIA ignored his specific statements of “when and how” he learned of his potential claims for purposes of equitable tolling of the limitations period for reopening or reconsideration, and the fact that his claims relied on not just I.N.S. v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289 (2001), but also on Garcia-Carias v. Holder, 697 F.3d 257 (5th Cir. 2012), and Lugo-Resendez v. Lynch, 831 F.3d 337 (5th Cir. 2016). To be entitled to equitable tolling, Escobedo-Molina had to show that: “(1) he has been pursuing his rights diligently and (2) some extraordinary circumstance has stood in his way and prevented timely filing.” Gonzalez Hernandez, 9 F.4th at 284. Given the BIA’s reasoned and specific analysis of the record evidence and the timeline relating to the three cases on which Escobedo-Molina relied, Escobedo-Molina’s continued vague representations as to when he learned of his claims and took action on that knowledge are insufficient to show that the agency decision was completely unfounded in the evidence or its denial of equitable tolling otherwise so irrational as to be arbitrary. See Masin-Ventura v. Garland, 41 F.4th 482, 484 (5th Cir. 2022); Gonzalez Hernandez, 9 F.4th at 284; Gonzalez-Cantu v. Sessions, 866 F.3d 302, 305 & n.4 (5th Cir. 2017). The petition for review is DENIED. 2 22-60256 Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ca5 5th Cir. Escobedo-Molina v. Garland 6 January 2023 Immigration Unpublished fa67953cd0dd4639a6e41ad71b5931a681970466

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