ZAMIR GABRIEL ALVAREZ-GOMEZ, AKA Josei Guema v. MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ZAMIR GABRIEL ALVAREZ-GOMEZ,
AKA Josei Guema,
Petitioner,
v.
MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
No. 18-73202
Agency No. A095-789-832
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted June 21, 2021**
Before: SILVERMAN, WATFORD, and BENNETT, Circuit Judges.
Zamir Gabriel Alvarez-Gomez, a native and citizen of Peru, petitions for
review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order granting respondent’s
motion to reconsider. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
FILED
JUN 24 2021
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

-- 1 of 2 --

2 18-73202
abuse of discretion the BIA’s ruling on a motion to reconsider. Mohammed v.
Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791 (9th Cir. 2005). We deny the petition for review.
In his opening brief, Alvarez-Gomez does not challenge the agency’s
determination that his 1999 conviction constitutes a crime involving moral
turpitude. See Lopez-Vasquez v. Holder, 706 F.3d 1072, 1079-80 (9th Cir. 2013)
(issues not specifically raised and argued in a party’s opening brief are waived).
The BIA did not abuse its discretion in granting respondent’s motion to
reconsider, where Alvarez-Gomez’s contention that his 1999 conviction is no
longer a disqualifying conviction for cancellation of removal purposes under an
amendment to California Penal Code § 18.5 is foreclosed by Velasquez-Rios v.
Wilkinson, 988 F.3d 1081, 1089 (9th Cir. 2021) (holding that “California’s
amendment to § 18.5 of the California Penal Code, which retroactively reduces the
maximum misdemeanor sentence to 364 days for purposes of state law, cannot be
applied retroactively for purposes of § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i).”).
The stay of removal remains in place until issuance of the mandate.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.

-- 2 of 2 --