Immigration – removal — cancellation; bias

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Immigration – removal — cancellation; bias

An alien seeking cancellation of removal failed to show bias on the part of the immigration judge.

“[T]he IJ’s interruptions and questioning did not rise to the level of those seen in Castilho. The IJ’s substantive interruptions of Delgado’s testimony included a question about whether Delgado had paid a bond ordered by the court, a question attempting to clarify whether Delgado was referring to his home in Chicago or his potential future home in Mexico, and an attempt to determine the import of a line of questioning involving the living conditions at Delgado’s parents’ home. All of these questions are clearly relevant, unlike the questions asked by the IJ in Castilho. Further, any hostility, impatience, or rudeness exhibited by the IJ was significantly less than the rudeness exhibited in Apouviepseakoda, and yet we deemed the hearing in Apouviepseakoda to be full and fair. In Apouviepseakoda, for instance, we observed that the IJ mocked the applicant regarding a cultural difference between the United States and her home in Africa. 475 F.3d at 886-87. The most that can be said about the IJ in this case is that he might have appeared sarcastic when questioning why Delgado would choose to live in Morelos instead of a safer part of Mexico, and that the IJ was perturbed by Delgado’s lack of evidentiary support for his belief that there are no jobs in Morelos. Any of the inquiries on the part of the IJ cannot be labeled as having prevented Delgado from having a reasonable opportunity to present his case, and do not support the contention that the IJ harbored any bias toward Delgado.”

Petition Denied.

11-2648 Delgado v. Holder

Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals, Flaum, J.