The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing an appeal from an immigration judge's decision. The court found substantial evidence supporting the agency's determination that the petitioner failed to demonstrate exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to qualifying relatives.
Oscar Efrain Perez Hernandez, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitioned for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for cancellation of removal.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the case for substantial evidence to determine if the agency erred in applying the exceptional and extremely unusual hardship standard. The panel concluded that substantial evidence supports the agency’s determination that Perez Hernandez has not shown exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to qualifying relatives. The court rejected the petitioner’s contention that the agency conducted an inadequate hardship analysis as unsupported by the record.
What it means going forward
The denial of the petition for review affirms the lower agency decision, leaving the denial of cancellation of removal in place and the motion to stay removal moot.
