Background
Petitioners sought review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order affirming an Immigration Judge’s denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. The Immigration Judge denied the applications based on an adverse credibility finding and alternative grounds that the claims were untimely and failed on the merits. The petitioner challenged only the credibility determination on appeal.
The court’s reasoning
The court determined that when an appellant fails to challenge an independent, alternative ground supporting the judgment, that ground is deemed abandoned. Because the petitioner did not address the timeliness or merits of the claims, the petition was denied on those grounds. Additionally, the court dismissed the due process claim regarding the Immigration Judge’s interruptions because the petitioner failed to exhaust that issue before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that failure to argue all independent grounds in an appellate brief results in abandonment of those issues. It also confirms that procedural due process claims regarding trial conduct must be exhausted before the Board of Immigration Appeals to be reviewable in the circuit courts.