Li v. Holder , 370 F. App'x 786 ( 2010 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAR 08 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
GANG LI, No. 06-70866
Petitioner, Agency No. A075-708-870
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted February 16, 2010 **
Before: FERNANDEZ, GOULD, and M. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Gang Li, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of
Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration
judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal,
*
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).
KV/Research
and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction
under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review due process claims de novo, Larita-Martinez v.
INS, 220 F.3d 1092, 1095 (9th Cir. 2000), and we grant the petition for review.
Li contends the agency violated his right to due process by holding removal
proceedings in the absence of his retained counsel. At the time of the decisions,
the IJ and BIA did not have the benefit of our decision in Hernandez-Gil v.
Gonzales, 476 F.3d 803, 808-09 (9th Cir. 2007) (concluding that the IJ denied
petitioner’s statutory right to counsel where the IJ did not take reasonable steps to
ensure the right to counsel was honored, and that the denial of petitioner’s statutory
right to counsel prejudiced him). We therefore remand for the agency to consider
Li’s claims in light of our intervening case law.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
KV/Research 2 06-70866