Jose Abreu v. Merrick Garland ( 2023 )

USCA4 Appeal: 22-2206 Doc: 33 Filed: 12/19/2023 Pg: 1 of 3
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 22-2206
JOSE AMBIORIX ABREU,
Petitioner,
v.
MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Submitted: August 18, 2023 Decided: December 19, 2023
Before KING, AGEE, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
ON BRIEF: Earl Raynor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Petitioner. Brian Boynton,
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Anthony P. Nicastro, Assistant Director,
Ilana J. Snyder, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 22-2206 Doc: 33 Filed: 12/19/2023 Pg: 2 of 3
PER CURIAM:
Jose Ambiorix Abreu, a native and citizen of the Dominican Republic, petitions for
review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) affirming the Immigration
Judge’s (IJ) denial of Abreu’s motion to terminate removal proceedings and upholding his
order of removal. *
Abreu acknowledges the criminal convictions driving his removal order and that his
direct appeals have been exhausted. He claims, however, that the convictions are not final
for immigration purposes due to pending post-conviction relief petitions that bear directly
on his guilt or innocence. Upon review, we find Abreu’s argument to be without merit.
See Jimenez-Guzman v. Holder, 642 F.3d 1294, 1297 (10th Cir. 2011) (“Pending
post-conviction motions or other collateral attacks do not negate the finality of a conviction
for immigration purposes unless and until the conviction is overturned.”); Paredes v. Att’y
Gen. of U.S., 528 F.3d 196, 198-99 (3d Cir. 2008) (collecting cases and concluding that
pendency of collateral proceedings “does not vitiate finality”).
Accordingly, we deny the petition for review. See In re Abreu (B.I.A. Oct. 28,
2022). We deny Abreu’s motion to file a supplemental appendix and dispense with oral
*
The IJ found Abreu removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), for
having been convicted of an aggravated felony as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(A)
(murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a child) and 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(U) (a law relating to
an attempt or conspiracy to commit an offense described in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)), and
pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i), for having been convicted of a crime of domestic
violence, stalking, child abuse, child neglect or child abandonment.
2
USCA4 Appeal: 22-2206 Doc: 33 Filed: 12/19/2023 Pg: 3 of 3
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials
before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
PETITION DENIED
3