Zakarneh v. Bondi

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: February 26, 2025
• Docket: 22-1604
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 26 2025 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

TAREQ ZIAD FOUAD ZAKARNEH, No. 22-1604 Agency No. Petitioner, A207-079-225 v. MEMORANDUM* PAMELA BONDI, Attorney General,

Respondent.

On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals

Argued and Submitted February 13, 2025 Pasadena, California

Before: PAEZ, TALLMAN, and R. NELSON, Circuit Judges.

Tareq Ziad Fouad Zakarneh (“Zakarneh”), a Palestinian from the West

Bank, petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals

(“BIA”) affirming the denial of his application for a good faith marriage waiver

under 8 U.S.C. § 1186(c)(4)(B).

“[A]s a mixed question of fact and law, the good faith marriage

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. determination is a ‘question of law’ that is reviewable under § 1252(a)(2)(D). As it

is a primarily factual question, our review is deferential.” Zia v. Garland, 112

F.4th 1194, 1202 (9th Cir. 2024). Although we lack jurisdiction to review the

agency’s factual determinations related to the marriage, we may review the

agency’s application of those facts to the legal standard. Id. at 1201 (citing

Wilkinson v. Garland, 601 U.S. 209, 221–22 (2024)). We may also review

constitutional claims. See id. at 1199; § 1252(a)(2)(D). We deny the petition.

1. We agree with the BIA that Zakarneh has not demonstrated that he

entered his marriage in good faith. The agency found Zakarneh not credible. The

agency further found that Zakarneh pressured his ex-wife into a rushed marriage

after threatening to marry another woman if she did not agree to marry him; that he

did not exhibit affection for her; and that he and his ex-wife did not meaningfully

co-mingle finances, see 8 C.F.R. § 1216.5(e)(2). The remaining credible evidence

is insufficient to establish that it is more likely than not that Zakarneh entered his

marriage with the intent to live a life with his ex-wife. See Bark v. I.N.S., 511 F.2d

1200, 1201 (9th Cir. 1975). We therefore find no legal error in the BIA’s good

faith marriage determination.

2. We also agree with the BIA that the IJ did not violate Zakarneh’s due

process rights in crediting certain hearsay statements made by his ex-wife and her

friend. At minimum, Zakarneh must demonstrate that the admission of those

2 22-1604 statements was fundamentally unfair, see Saidane v. I.N.S., 129 F.3d 1063, 1065

(9th Cir. 1997), which requires demonstrating prejudice, see Pagayon v. Holder,

675 F.3d 1182, 1191-92 (9th Cir. 2011). Zakarneh does not do so. The credited

statements are duplicative of other evidence in the record, and the agency’s adverse

credibility and good faith marriage determinations did not rely on those statements.

Zakarneh’s due process argument therefore fails.

PETITION DENIED.

3 22-1604