NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUN 24 2021
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ZAMIR GABRIEL ALVAREZ-GOMEZ, No. 18-73202
AKA Josei Guema,
Agency No. A095-789-832
Petitioner,
v. MEMORANDUM*
MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted June 21, 2021**
Before: SILVERMAN, WATFORD, and BENNETT, Circuit Judges.
Zamir Gabriel Alvarez-Gomez, a native and citizen of Peru, petitions for
review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order granting respondent’s
motion to reconsider. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
abuse of discretion the BIA’s ruling on a motion to reconsider. Mohammed v.
Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791 (9th Cir. 2005). We deny the petition for review.
In his opening brief, Alvarez-Gomez does not challenge the agency’s
determination that his 1999 conviction constitutes a crime involving moral
turpitude. See Lopez-Vasquez v. Holder, 706 F.3d 1072, 1079-80 (9th Cir. 2013)
(issues not specifically raised and argued in a party’s opening brief are waived).
The BIA did not abuse its discretion in granting respondent’s motion to
reconsider, where Alvarez-Gomez’s contention that his 1999 conviction is no
longer a disqualifying conviction for cancellation of removal purposes under an
amendment to California Penal Code § 18.5 is foreclosed by Velasquez-Rios v.
Wilkinson, 988 F.3d 1081, 1089 (9th Cir. 2021) (holding that “California’s
amendment to § 18.5 of the California Penal Code, which retroactively reduces the
maximum misdemeanor sentence to 364 days for purposes of state law, cannot be
applied retroactively for purposes of § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i).”).
The stay of removal remains in place until issuance of the mandate.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
2 18-73202