Gualpa-Mizhquiri v. Mukasey ( 2008 )


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  •           IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
    Fifth Circuit
    FILED
    May 30, 2008
    No. 07-60063
    Summary Calendar                Charles R. Fulbruge III
    Clerk
    ANGELA GUALPA-MIZHQUIRI
    Petitioner
    v.
    MICHAEL B MUKASEY, U S ATTORNEY GENERAL
    Respondent
    Petition for Review of an Order of the
    Board of Immigration Appeals
    BIA No. A77 699 890
    Before GARWOOD, WIENER, and BARKSDALE, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:*
    Angela Gualpa-Mizhquiri, a native and citizen of Ecuador, petitions this
    court for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (BIA) decision dismissing
    her appeal of an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of her June 2006 motion to
    reopen removal proceedings. An IJ had in November 2000 entered an order of
    removal against Gualpa-Mizhquiri in absentia after she failed to appear at her
    removal hearing.
    *
    Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion
    should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
    circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
    No. 07-60063
    The sole contention raised by Gualpa-Mizhquiri in her brief in support of
    her petition for review is that the BIA’s dismissal of her appeal denied her the
    due process of law because she had not been provided, as required by statute, a
    list of qualified individuals who might have been available to represent her
    during her removal proceedings free of charge. She contends that she was
    denied a realistic opportunity to obtain counsel for her removal proceedings.
    This court lacks jurisdiction to consider Gualpa-Mizhquiri’s argument because
    she failed to exhaust her available administrative remedies by raising that issue
    before the BIA. See Townsend v. INS, 
    799 F.2d 179
    , 181-82 (5th Cir. 1986). See
    also Pjetri v. Gonzales, 
    468 F.3d 478
    , 481 (7th Cir. 2006).1
    In her petition for review itself Gualpa-Mizhquiri conclusorily asserts
    without explanation that the BIA abused its discretion by dismissing her appeal
    from the IJ’s decision to deny her motion to reopen. By failing to adequately
    brief her claim that the BIA abused its discretion in dismissing her appeal,
    Gualpa-Mizhquiri has abandoned the issue. See Chambers v. Mukasey, 
    520 F.3d 445
    , 448 n.1 (5th Cir. 2008); Yohey v. Collins, 
    985 F.2d 222
    , 224-25 (5th Cir.
    1993) (holding that claims not adequately argued in the body of the brief are
    deemed abandoned on appeal). In any event, the BIA’s dismissal was proper.
    See United States v. Estrada-Trochez, 
    66 F.3d 733
    , 735-36 (5th Cir. 1995).
    PETITION FOR REVIEW DISMISSED IN PART, DENIED IN PART.
    1
    We also note that the administrative record does not reflect that any such
    claim was raised before the IJ in connection with the motion to reopen; and the
    record does contain evidence that petitioner was provided such a list and does
    not contain evidence that such a list was not so provided. We further observe
    that petitioner has conceded removability and only asserts that she desires to
    pursue adjustment of status.
    2