CA9 on Notice, Motions to Reopen, Exceptional Circumstances: Juarez Castro v. Garland

Juarez Castro v. Garland (unpub.)

"Petitioner Laura Catalina Juarez Castro, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) order affirming the immigration judge’s (IJ) denial of Juarez Castro’s motion to reopen her asylum proceedings. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252, and we grant the petition and remand for reconsideration of petitioner’s motion to reopen. ... We conclude that Juarez Castro’s exceptional circumstances and notice arguments were exhausted as a matter of law, and we reject the government’s suggestion to the contrary. ... The IJ did not consider whether Juarez Castro demonstrated exceptional circumstances, and the BIA did not apply the appropriate standard when it considered Juarez Castro’s sworn declaration. ... We remand to the BIA with directions to apply the correct legal standard to Juarez Castro’s notice argument and reconsider whether Juarez Castro has shown exceptional circumstances under our case law, given the corroborating evidence of her children’s condition filed in conjunction with her motion to reopen."

[Hats off to Liz Torres!]