MENDEZ-MENDEZ v. MUKASEY
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in MENDEZ-MENDEZ v. MUKASEY, No. 06-70851, an administrative appeal. The panel consisted of Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, A. Wallace Tashima, and Milan D. Smith, Jr., Circuit Judges.
TASHIMA, Circuit Judge:
Pablo Mendez-Mendez (”Mendez”), a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (”Board” or “BIA”), dismissing his appeal from an Immigration Judge’s (”IJ”) order of removal. The Board concluded that the IJ did not abuse her discretion in denying Mendez’s motion for a continuance, and that the IJ correctly concluded that Mendez did not qualify for the exception to inadmissibility found in 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II). Accordingly, the Board dismissed Mendez’s appeal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a), and we deny the petition. BACKGROUND Mendez became a lawful permanent resident of the United States on December 1, 1990. On September 8, 1995, Mendez pled guilty to one count of bribery of a public official, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(1)(A). The sentencing guideline range was zero to six months, and Mendez was sentenced to a three-month term of imprisonment. In 2003, Mendez was returning to the United States from Mexico and applied for admission as a lawful permanent resident. In April 2004, Mendez was served with a Notice to Appear, charging him with inadmissibility for being an alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), based on his bribery conviction.. . .