Background
Marc Mendoza, a native and citizen of the Philippines, appealed from the Board of Immigration Appeals denial of his motion for reconsideration. The BIA had previously dismissed his appeal from an Immigration Judge determination that he had not established a good-faith marriage. Mendoza did not timely petition for review of the underlying dismissal.
The court’s reasoning
The panel reviewed the denial of the motion for reconsideration for abuse of discretion and related questions of law de novo. The court found the record did not establish that the BIA acted arbitrarily, irrationally, or contrary to law in its treatment of evidence. Regarding the due process challenge, the court held the BIA did not abuse its discretion in declining to consider the claim as improperly raised. The court further found no error in the BIA’s alternative conclusion that the claim failed on the merits because the record did not reflect that the Immigration Judge was biased against Mendoza.
What it means going forward
The petition for review is denied, leaving the Board of Immigration Appeals order denying the motion for reconsideration in place.