Polyana Baptista v. Loretta Lynch

640 F. App'x 255
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedApril 4, 2016
Docket15-1719
StatusUnpublished

This text of 640 F. App'x 255 (Polyana Baptista v. Loretta Lynch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Polyana Baptista v. Loretta Lynch, 640 F. App'x 255 (4th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

Petition dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Polyana Pitthan Stolf Baptista, a native and citizen of Brazil, 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 *256 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 -Baptista failed to meet her burden of establishing that her United States citizen child would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if Baptista is returned to Brazil. 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 Baptista’s 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) (2012). See Gomis v. Holder, 571 F.3d 353, 358 (4th Cir.2009) (“[A]bsent a color-able 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 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.

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Related

Gomis v. Holder
571 F.3d 353 (Fourth Circuit, 2009)
Dilshad Sattani v. Eric Holder, Jr.
749 F.3d 368 (Fifth Circuit, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
640 F. App'x 255, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/polyana-baptista-v-loretta-lynch-ca4-2016.