Teresa Cuatzo-Nieves v. Loretta Lynch

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UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: A205-210-625 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [1000187843]. Mailed to: Teresa Cuatzo Nieves. [16-2038]

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Appeal: 16-2038 Doc: 28 Filed: 11/07/2017 Pg: 1 of 3 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 16-2038 TERESA CUATZO-NIEVES, Petitioner, v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Submitted: August 10, 2017 Decided: November 7, 2017 Before MOTZ, DIAZ, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Petition dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Teresa Cuatzo-Nieves, Petitioner Pro Se. Joyce R. Branda, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Cindy S. Ferrier, Assistant Director, Sunah Lee, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. Appeal: 16-2038 Doc: 28 Filed: 11/07/2017 Pg: 2 of 3 PER CURIAM: Teresa Cuatzo-Nieves, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) dismissing her appeal from the immigration judge’s denial of her application for cancellation of removal. For the reasons set forth below, we dismiss the petition for review. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i) (2012), entitled “Denials of discretionary relief,” “no court shall have jurisdiction to review any judgment regarding the granting of relief under section . . . 1229b,” which is the section governing cancellation of removal. In this case, the immigration judge found, and the Board agreed, that Cuatzo-Nieves failed to meet her burden of establishing that her United States citizen children would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if she is returned to Mexico. We conclude that this determination is clearly discretionary in nature, and we therefore lack jurisdiction to review challenges to this finding absent a colorable constitutional claim or question of law. See Sattani v. Holder, 749 F.3d 368, 372 (5th Cir. 2014) (finding no jurisdiction to review determination that aliens failed to demonstrate requisite hardship to their U.S. citizen son); Obioha v. Gonzales, 431 F.3d 400, 405 (4th Cir. 2005) (“It is quite clear that the gatekeeper provision [of § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i)] bars our jurisdiction to review a decision of the [Board] to actually deny a petition for cancellation of removal.”); Okpa v. INS, 266 F.3d 313, 317 (4th Cir. 2001) (concluding, under transitional rules, that issue of hardship is committed to agency discretion and is not subject to appellate review). We have reviewed Cuatzo-Nieves’ claims of error and conclude that she fails to raise a colorable constitutional claim or question of law under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(D) 2 Appeal: 16-2038 Doc: 28 Filed: 11/07/2017 Pg: 3 of 3 (2012). See Gomis v. Holder, 571 F.3d 353, 358 (4th Cir. 2009) (“[A]bsent a colorable constitutional claim or question of law, our review of the issue is not authorized by § 1252(a)(2)(D).” (emphasis added)). Accordingly, we dismiss the petition for review for lack of jurisdiction. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. PETITION DISMISSED 3

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