CAMACHO GRANDA v. SESSIONS III (2018)

MEMORANDUM **

Ruth Graciela Camacho-Granda and Ruth Cristina Cueva-Camacho, natives and citizens of Ecuador, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing their appeal from an immigration judge’s order denying their motion to reopen removal proceedings conducted in absentia. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen. Sembiring v. Gonzales, 499 F.3d 981, 985 (9th Cir. 2007). We deny the petition for review.

The agency did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioners’ motion to reopen based on lack of notice, where the notice of hearing was mailed to the last address provided but returned as undeliverable. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1229(a)(1)(F)(i), (2)(B) (requiring alien to provide address at which she may be contacted), 1229a(b)(5)(A) (written notice sent to the last address provided by the alien is sufficient notice for purposes of conducting in absentia proceedings); Carrillo-Gonzalez v. INS, 353 F.3d 1077, 1079 (9th Cir. 2003) (statements by counsel are not evidence).

Petitioners have waived any challenge to the BIA’s determination that they did not demonstrate changed conditions in Ecuador that would permit the filing of an otherwise untimely motion to reopen. See Rizk v. Holder, 629 F.3d 1083, 1091 n.3 (9th Cir. 2011) (issues not raised in an opening brief are waived).

PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.