Case: 19-60319 Document: 00515938232 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/14/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
July 14, 2021
No. 19-60319
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Robert Noel Figueroa-Diaz,
Petitioner,
versus
Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General,
Respondent.
Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
BIA No. A200 133 080
ON REMAND FROM
THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Before Wiener, Haynes, and Costa, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Last year, this court denied a petition for review of the Board of
Immigration Appeals’ decision to deny Figueroa-Diaz’s motion to reopen.
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opin-
ion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances
set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 19-60319 Document: 00515938232 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/14/2021
No. 19-60319
Figueroa-Diaz v. Barr, 812 F. App’x 278 (5th Cir. July 17, 2020). 1 We did so
based on our then-existing precedent holding that the stop-time rule, which
stops the clock on the period of physical presence required for cancellation
of removal, could be triggered by multiple documents providing the required
notice for a removal hearing. See id. at 279 (citing Yanez-Pena v. Barr, 952
F.3d 239, 241 (5th Cir. 2020), vacated sub nom. Yanez-Pena v. Garland, No.
19-1208, 2021 WL 1725146 (U.S. May 3, 2021)). The Supreme Court has
now rejected our rule, holding that a notice to appear sufficient to trigger the
stop-time rule is a single document containing all the required information.
See Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021).
In this case, the Supreme Court granted the petition for writ of
certiorari, vacated our prior decision, and remanded for reconsideration in
light of Niz-Chavez. Figueroa-Diaz v. Garland, No. 517, 2021 WL 1725148
(U.S. May 3, 2021). As a result, this matter is REMANDED to the Board
of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in accordance with the judgment of the
Supreme Court. Although the government asks us to affirm on alternative
grounds, we think the best course is to remand to the BIA in light of Niz-
Chavez. We in no way limit the issues the BIA may consider on remand. The
mandate shall issue forthwith.
1
We also dismissed for lack of jurisdiction Figueroa-Diaz’s petition seeking review
of the BIA’s refusal to reopen the proceedings sua sponte. That aspect of this petition for
review is not being remanded.
2