Francisa Dzikumu-Mensah v. Eric Holder, Jr., No. 11-1042 (4th Cir. 2011)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 11-1042 FRANCISA DZIFA DZIKUMU-MENSAH, Petitioner, v. ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Submitted: June 9, 2011 Decided: June 22, 2011 Before NIEMEYER, KING, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion. Randall L. Johnson, JOHNSON & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Arlington, Virginia, for Petitioner. Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, Linda S. Wernery, Assistant Director, Walter Bocchini, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Francisa Dzifa Dzikumu-Mensah, a native and citizen of Ghana, petitions Immigration for Appeals review of ( Board ) an order dismissing of her the appeal Board of from the immigration judge s order denying her request for a continuance and ordering her removed. Dzikumu-Mensah challenges the denial of her request for a continuance. We deny the petition for review. An immigration judge may grant a continuance for good cause shown. the denial discretion. 8 C.F.R. ยง 1003.29 (2011). of a motion for a This court reviews continuance for abuse Lendo v. Gonzales, 493 F.3d 439, 441 (4th Cir. 2007); Onyeme v. INS, 146 F.3d 227, 231 (4th Cir. 1998). court must of uphold the [immigration judge s] denial The of a continuance unless it was made without a rational explanation, it inexplicably departed from established policies, or it rested on an impermissible basis, e.g., against a particular race or group. invidious discrimination Lendo, 493 F.3d at 441 (quoting Onyeme, 146 F.3d at 231). If the alien is asserting that a continuance is needed in order to prepare and obtain additional evidence, as the alien was in this case, the alien must make a reasonable showing that the lack of preparation occurred despite a diligent good faith effort to be ready to proceed and that any additional evidence 2 the alien seeks to present is probative, significantly favorable to the alien. N. Dec. 354, 356-57 (BIA 1983). noncumulative and Matter of Sibrun, 18 I. & On appeal to the Board, the alien must show that the denial of the motion for a continuance caused actual prejudice and harm and materially affected the outcome of his insufficient. case. Unsupported Id. Id. at 357. allegations are The Board will not overturn the immigration judge s denial of a motion for a continuance unless the alien was deprived of a full and fair hearing. Matter of Perez-Andrade, 19 I. & N. Dec. 433, 434 (BIA 1987). We conclude Dzikumu-Mensah could failed present application. that there to was suggest would no any support abuse of additional her discretion. evidence proposed she asylum See Niang v. Gonzales, 492 F.3d 505, 511-12 (4th Cir. 2007) (rejecting the holding in Abay v. Ashcroft, 368 F.3d 634, 640-41 (6th Cir. 2004)). entitled to relief. She merely speculated she may be In addition, she failed to make any showing of actual prejudice or that she was deprived of a full and fair hearing. Accordingly, dispense with oral we deny argument the petition because 3 the for facts review. and We legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. PETITION DENIED 4
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