Georgina Garcia De Santos, Petitioner, v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Respondent, 87 F.3d 1318 (9th Cir. 1996)

Before: CANBY, NOONAN, and LEAVY, Circuit Judges

MEMORANDUM^** 

Georgina Garcia de Santos, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' dismissal of her appeal from the immigration judge's order refusing to reopen deportation proceedings that had been conducted in absentia. Garcia de Santos contends that she established exceptional circumstances excusing her failure to appear at her deportation hearing. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252b(c) (3) (A); 1252b(f) (2) ("The term 'exceptional circumstances' refers to exceptional circumstances (such as serious illness of the alien or death of an immediate relative of the alien, but not including less compelling circumstances) beyond the control of the alien."). In her motion to reopen, Garcia de Santos explained that she thought the hearing date was May 28 instead of May 18. She stated: "my son and daughter have been very sick or I would have been paying more close attention to the hearing date." We find no abuse of discretion in the immigration judge's conclusion that Garcia de Santos failed to establish exceptional circumstances because she said that her children's illness prevented her from remembering the hearing date, but not that their illness prevented her from attending the hearing because no one else could care for them. See Hernandez-Vivas v. INS, 23 F.3d 1557, 1560 (9th Cir. 1994) (denial of motion to reopen reviewed for abuse of discretion).

PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.