Tomas Hernandez-Rios v. MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
TOMAS HERNANDEZ-RIOS,
Petitioner,
v.
MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
No. 19-72152
Agency No. A206-349-659
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Argued and Submitted April 14, 2023
San Francisco, California
Before: S.R. THOMAS and H.A. THOMAS, Circuit Judges, and RAKOFF, **
District Judge.
Tomas Hernandez-Rios petitions for review of an order of the Board of
Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying his motion to reopen based on ineffective
assistance of counsel. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review a
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge for the
Southern District of New York, sitting by designation.
FILED
APR 27 2023
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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denial of a motion to reopen for abuse of discretion, and reverse only if the BIA
“acts arbitrarily, irrationally, or contrary to the law, and when it fails to provide a
reasoned explanation for its actions.” B.R. v. Garland, 26 F.4th 827, 835 (9th Cir.
2022). We deny the petition for review.
1. The BIA did not abuse its discretion when it held that Hernandez-Rios
had not established ineffective assistance of counsel with respect to his
cancellation of removal claim. A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel requires
a showing of inadequate performance by counsel. See Guan v. Barr, 925 F.3d
1022, 1033 (9th Cir. 2019). Hernandez-Rios failed to make that showing, as the
record reflects that prior counsel adequately inquired about and provided evidence
of hardship to Hernandez-Rios’ daughters. Cf. Lin v. Ashcroft, 377 F.3d 1014,
1026–27 (9th Cir. 2004) (holding that counsel performs inadequately when
counsel’s performance rendered the proceeding “so fundamentally unfair that
[petitioner] was prevented from reasonably presenting his case”).
2. While Hernandez-Rios has adequately alleged that he was not
properly advised about voluntary departure, he cannot show that the BIA acted
“arbitrarily, irrationally, or contrary to the law” with respect to this claim. See B.R.,
26 F.4th at 835. Hernandez-Rios concedes that he informed prior counsel that he
did not wish to voluntarily depart, and—despite ample opportunity to do so in his
declaration and during oral argument—has not otherwise asserted that he would

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consider departing.
3. The BIA did not err in rejecting Hernandez-Rios’ jurisdictional
argument. “[T]he failure of [a Notice to Appear] to include time and date
information does not deprive the immigration court of subject matter
jurisdiction . . . .” United States v. Bastide-Hernandez, 39 F.4th 1187, 1188 (9th
Cir. 2022) (en banc), cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 755 (2023).
PETITION DENIED.

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