126 F. App'x 165

Baudelio BETANCOURT-PARGA, Petitioner, v. John ASHCROFT, U.S. Attorney, Respondent.

No. 04-60220.

Summary Calendar.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Decided March 8, 2005.

*166Lawrence Erik Rushton, Houston, TX, for Petitioner.

Thomas Ward Hussey, Director, Ernesto Horacio Molina, Jr., Anthony Cardozo Payne, Alberto R. Gonzales, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Hipólito Acosta, U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service, Houston, TX, Caryl G. Thompson, U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service, New Orleans, LA, for Respondent.

Before WIENER, BENAVIDES and STEWART, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: *

Baudelio Betancourt-Parga, a native and citizen of Mexico, has filed a petition for review from a final order denying his request for suspension of deportation. Betancourt argues that the BIA failed to give proper consideration to the factors announced in Rosenberg v. Fleuti, 374 U.S. 449, 83 S.Ct. 1804, 10 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1963) in determining his eligibility for suspension. He also argues that there was not substantial evidence to support the BIA’s determination that he failed to demonstrate seven years of continuous physical presence in the United States prior to the commencement of the deportation proceedings.

Betancourt’s reliance on the application of the Fleuti doctrine in determining his continual physical presence is misplaced because that holding has been superceded by the enactment of certain Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) provisions in cases involving suspension of deportation. See Tapia v. Ashcroft, 351 F.3d 795, 799 (7th Cir .2003).

Betancourt has not rebutted the evidence that he spent in excess of 180 days in the aggregate outside of the United States prior to being served with the order to show cause. Thus, he is statutorily ineligible for suspension of deportation. See Gonzalez-Torres v. INS, 213 F.3d 899, 902 (5th Cir.2000); 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(d)(l), (2).

Because Betancourt is statutorily ineligible for suspension of deportation, whether he was found to have a continual physical presence since 1982 under an amnesty program qualifying him for permanent residency has no relevance to the determination of his continual physical presence for suspension of deportation purposes. Nor can Betancourt take advantage of his continuous presence in the United States since his 1992 departure. See McBride v. INS, 238 F.3d 371, 377 (5th Cir.2001)

The petition for review is DENIED.

Betancourt-Parga v. Ashcroft
126 F. App'x 165

Case Details

Name
Betancourt-Parga v. Ashcroft
Decision Date
Mar 8, 2005
Citations

126 F. App'x 165

Jurisdiction
United States

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