Rosa Contreras-De Elena v. Eric H. Holder Jr. ( 2010 )

FILED
SEP 07 2010
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ROSA ELENA CONTRERAS-DE No. 08-71321
ELENA,
Agency No. A070-105-480
Petitioner,
v. MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted August 23, 2010 **
Before: LEAVY, HAWKINS, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
Rosa Elena Contreras-De Elena, a native and citizen of Colombia, petitions
for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing her
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying her motion to reopen
exclusion proceedings conducted in absentia. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1252. We grant the petition for review and remand.
The BIA dismissed Contreras-De Elena’s appeal as moot because she
departed during the pendency of her appeal. In an intervening opinion, Coyt v.
Holder, 593 F.3d 902, 907 (9th Cir. 2010), this court held that a petitioner’s
physical removal by the government while his motion to reopen was pending did
not constitute withdrawal of the motion. We remand for the BIA to reconsider
whether Contreras-De Elena’s appeal is withdrawn in light of our holding in Coyt.
In light of our disposition, we need not reach Contreras-De Elena’s
remaining contentions.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
2 08-71321