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FOR PUBLICATION
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
No. 22-12848
JEREMIAS MEDRADO PASQUAL-ANDRES,
Petitioner,
versus
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent.
Petition for Review of a Decision of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Agency No. A208-197-319
Before NEWSOM, GRANT, and ABUDU, Circuit Judges.
ABUDU, Circuit Judge:
Jeremias Pasqual-Andres moved to reopen his proceedings
in immigration court, alleging that his former counsel had rendered him ineffective assistance. Though he reported his former
counsel’s misconduct to the Executive Office of Immigration
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Review’s (“EOIR”) Disciplinary Counsel, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) held that Pasqual-Andres should have reported his counsel to the state bar under Matter of Lozada, 19 I. &
N. Dec. 637 (BIA 1988), overruled in part by Matter of Compean, 24 I.
& N. Dec. 710, 710 (A.G. 2009), reinstated, 25 I. & N. Dec. 1 (A.G.
2009). The BIA denied his motion to reopen on that ground.
Pasqual-Andres now petitions for review, asserting that the denial
was an error. After a thorough review of the record and the parties’
briefs, and with the benefit of oral argument, we grant Pasqual-Andres’s petition for review. 1
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Jeremias Pasqual-Andres, a native and citizen of Guatemala,
entered the United States on October 8, 2015, when he was 11 years
old. Within the week, the Department of Homeland Security
(“DHS”) served him with a notice to appear (“NTA”), charging him
with removability under the Immigration and Nationality Act
(“INA”) § 212(a)(6)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), as a non-citizen
present in the United States without being admitted or paroled.
Throughout this process, Pasqual-Andres was represented by counsel Ernesto Varas and his firm. Through Varas, Pasqual-Andres admitted the factual allegations in the NTA and conceded his
1 We appointed Travis Ramey and the University of Alabama School of Law’s
Appellate Advocacy Clinic to represent Pasqual-Andres in this case. Christopher Alhorn and Sanderson Wall presented at oral argument. We thank
Ramey, Alhorn, Wall, and the Clinic for their service to the Court and for their
excellent representation of Pasqual-Andres.
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inadmissibility. He applied for asylum pursuant to INA § 208(a), 8
U.S.C. § 1158(a); withholding of removal under INA § 241(b)(3), 8
U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3); and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c).
At his September 2018 merits hearing, Pasqual-Andres testified in support of his applications through an interpreter. After this
hearing, the immigration judge (“IJ”) denied Pasqual-Andres’s requests for relief. The IJ found that Pasqual-Andres was not credible,
and even if he were, he was not eligible for asylum because he
failed to sufficiently allege persecution, and his alleged social
groups were not cognizable. Additionally, the IJ found that
Pasqual-Andres had not established his eligibility for withholding
of removal or CAT relief.
Pasqual-Andres administratively appealed this determination to the BIA, filing a six-page brief that indicated it was filed pro
se. The brief generally challenged the IJ’s findings related to asylum
and withholding of removal, and its determination that he had
failed to establish a particular social group. The brief did not address the IJ’s credibility determination or the denial of CAT relief.
Additionally, the brief contained some inaccuracies, such as using
she/her pronouns for Pasqual-Andres, who is a man.
In July 2020, the BIA dismissed Pasqual-Andres’s appeal,
agreeing with the IJ that Pasqual-Andres had not established his eligibility for asylum even if he had testified credibly. The BIA found
no clear error in the IJ’s determination that Pasqual-Andres’s claim
lacked the requisite nexus to the asserted particular social groups.
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It reasoned that because Pasqual-Andres had not established his eligibility for asylum, he also had failed to meet his burden for withholding of removal, which is higher. It also noted that PasqualAndres did not challenge the IJ’s CAT determination on appeal.
In late 2020, Jessica Palumbo entered a notice of appearance
on behalf of Pasqual-Andres and filed a motion to reopen the proceedings based on ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. The
motion asserted that Pasqual-Andres and his mother had sought
legal assistance from Varas for his appeal, but Varas filed an “anemic and largely unresponsive brief ” that failed to challenge the IJ’s
credibility findings, the IJ’s conclusions regarding his eligibility for
CAT relief, and his eligibility for asylum. The motion averred that
the brief was so deficient that it was as if no brief had been filed at
all. It argued that Pasqual-Andres’s BIA materials were presented
as filed pro se, but they were written and filed by Varas, without
Pasqual-Andres’s involvement, as evidenced by the errors. It contended that Varas’s preparation and filing of the appellate materials
constituted legal “practice” before the EOIR, and that practice fell
below the standards of competent practitioners.
The motion indicated that Pasqual-Andres complied with all
three procedural steps required to present a claim for ineffective
assistance of counsel to the BIA, as the BIA had prescribed in
Lozada. Relevant here, Lozada requires immigration petitioners asserting ineffective assistance of counsel to file “a complaint . . . with appropriate disciplinary authorities regarding [the
alleged deficient] representation.” 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639. Several
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exhibits were attached to the motion that, in Pasqual-Andres’s view,
showed that he had complied with Lozada. In particular, PasqualAndres provided a copy of an EOIR complaint he had filed against
Varas for ineffective assistance of counsel. The motion alternatively asked the BIA to reopen the case sua sponte.
In July 2022, the BIA denied Pasqual-Andres’s motion to reopen, concluding that he failed to comply with the third prong of
Lozada, the disciplinary complaint requirement. Particularly, the
BIA found that Pasqual-Andres did not file a complaint against his
former counsel with the proper disciplinary authority—the state
bar—or adequately explain why he did not file such a complaint. 2
The BIA acknowledged that Pasqual-Andres submitted a
complaint against Varas to the EOIR, but it explained that this complaint was, in its view, insufficient. It noted that the EOIR Disciplinary Counsel did not have the authority to expel, disbar, or otherwise suspend an attorney in all venues, unlike state bar authorities.
Therefore, any adverse action as a result of the filing would pertain
solely to matters within the jurisdiction of the EOIR. As such, it
found that the complaint was not in conformance with the purpose
of the Lozada requirement at issue, which was intended to deter
meritless claims of ineffective assistance. Without a bar complaint,
the BIA held that Pasqual-Andres had not substantially complied
with the third Lozada requirement, and it denied his motion to
2 The DHS opposed Pasqual-Andres’s motion to reopen, arguing that he did
not meet Lozada’s second requirement, the notice requirement, but did not
contest that the EOIR was an appropriate disciplinary authority.
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reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The BIA also
found, in viewing the whole record, that the circumstances of the
case did not present an exceptional situation that would warrant
exercising its sua sponte authority to reopen the proceedings.
Pasqual-Andres timely petitioned this Court for review of
the BIA’s denial of his motion to reopen, arguing, primarily, that
the EOIR complaint he filed is sufficient under Lozada.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review the BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen for an
abuse of discretion, but we review its underlying legal conclusions
de novo. Dacostagomez-Aguilar v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 40 F.4th 1312, 1315
(11th Cir. 2022); see also Yaner Li v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 488 F.3d 1371, 1374
(11th Cir. 2007). When we review for abuse of discretion, we ask
whether the BIA exercised its discretion arbitrarily or capriciously.
Ferreira v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 714 F.3d 1240, 1243 (11th Cir. 2013). The
BIA can abuse its discretion by making an error of law, or by failing
to follow “its own precedents without providing a reasoned explanation for doing so.” Id.
III. DISCUSSION
Pasqual-Andres contends that he substantially, if not strictly,
complied with the third prong of Lozada, because the EOIR complaint was a complaint to an appropriate disciplinary authority under the pertinent case law. Even if he did not exactly comply with
Lozada, moreover, he argues that the EOIR complaint constituted
substantial compliance with Lozada, which is sufficient.
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A. Pasqual-Andres’s Claim Was Sufficiently Exhausted
As an initial note, the government contends that PasqualAndres failed to exhaust his administrative remedies because he did
not argue to the BIA that his EOIR complaint was an appropriate
disciplinary authority. Section 1252(d)(1) provides, in relevant
part, that a court can review a final order of removal only if the
petitioner “exhausted all administrative remedies available to
[them] as of right.” INA § 242(d)(1), 8 U.S.C. § 1252(d)(1). The Supreme Court recently clarified that the obligation to exhaust administrative remedies is not jurisdictional and is subject to waiver
and forfeiture. Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, 598 U.S. 411, 423 (2023);
see Kemokai v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 83 F.4th 886, 891 (11th Cir. 2023) (explaining that Section 1252(d)(1) is a claims-processing rule post-Santos-Zacaria, and it applies when it is timely asserted by a party).
To exhaust a claim, a petitioner must raise the “core issue”
to the BIA and reasonably set out their arguments related to that
issue. Jeune v. U.S. Att’y. Gen., 810 F.3d 792, 800 (11th Cir. 2016)
(quoting Montano Cisneros v. U.S. Att’y. Gen., 514 F.3d 1224, 1229
n.3 (11th Cir. 2008)), overruled in part on other grounds by Santos-Zacaria, 598 U.S. at 419–23 & n.2. We have explained that this exhaustion provision is “not a stringent requirement.” Indrawati v. U.S.
Att’y Gen., 779 F.3d 1284, 1297 (11th Cir. 2015), overruled in part on
other grounds by Santos-Zacaria, 598 U.S. at 419–23 & n.2.
However, as a matter of common sense, a petitioner cannot
raise an argument that the BIA erred in a decision that the BIA has
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yet to make. See Morales v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 33 F.4th 1303, 1308 (11th
Cir. 2022), overruled in part on other grounds by Santos-Zacaria,
598 U.S. at 419–23 & n.2. In Indrawati, for example, we held that it
would be “facially nonsensical” to fault a petitioner for not raising
an argument about a BIA decision not yet in existence. 779 F.3d at
1299. Accordingly, if a petitioner adequately argues the core issue
of whether he has satisfied a set of requirements to the BIA, he
does not have to predict the specific ground on which the BIA
might find that he did not do so in order to exhaust. See id.
Here, Pasqual-Andres raised the “core issue” of his Lozada
compliance before the BIA in his motion to reopen, and thus
properly exhausted his administrative remedies. Jeune, 810 F.3d at
800. He directly asserted that he “engaged in all three steps prescribed under Matter of Lozada,” and listed the EOIR complaint as
“[s]upporting [e]vidence” for “Lozada [c]ompliance.” The BIA understood Pasqual-Andres to assert that he met Lozada’s requirements, and then it found otherwise. He did not have the opportunity to more directly address whether the filing of a state bar
complaint is an absolute requirement under Lozada because the
need to make such an argument only arose after the BIA ruled
against him. As a matter of logic, Pasqual-Andres did not have an
opportunity to challenge the reasoning underlying the BIA’s order
before the BIA issued the order. It would be “facially nonsensical”
to fault him for failing to raise more specific arguments. See Indrawati 779 F.3d at 1299. We do not do so here. We find the claim
to be sufficiently exhausted. See Morales, 33 F.4th at 1308.
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B. Pasqual-Andres Strictly Complied with Lozada
Non-citizens have the right to effective assistance of counsel
in deportation proceedings. Gbaya v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 342 F.3d 1219,
1221 (11th Cir. 2003); see also Frech v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 491 F.3d 1277,
1281 (11th Cir. 2007) (“The right to counsel in the immigration context is ‘an integral part of the procedural due process to which the
[non-citizen] is entitled.’” (citation omitted)). Accordingly, a noncitizen may move to reopen his immigration proceedings based on
ineffective assistance of counsel. Dakane v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 399 F.3d
1269, 1273 (11th Cir. 2005). In Lozada, the BIA established that, in
bringing an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, a non-citizen
must: (1) support the motion with an affidavit setting forth the
agreement with counsel and what action counsel did or did not
take that violated that agreement; (2) inform counsel of the allegations; and (3) state whether a complaint has been filed with the “appropriate disciplinary authorities” regarding any alleged “violation[s] of ethical or legal responsibilities,” or provide an explanation if such a complaint has not been filed. Gbaya, 342 F.3d at 1221
(quoting Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639); see also id. at 1221–22 (endorsing the Lozada standard). The “appropriate” authority was not
defined in Lozada. See Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639.
The BIA imposed these procedural requirements to aid in
assessing the high number of ineffective assistance of counsel
claims. Id. The disciplinary authority requirement, the BIA explained, was specifically designed to “deter meritless claims of ineffective representation” and “highlight[] the standards . . . expected of attorneys who represent persons in immigration
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proceedings,” the result of which has “enormous significance” to a
petitioner who faces removal. Id. at 639–40.
Additional BIA case law emphasized five other important
purposes the disciplinary authority requirement serves. First, it increases the BIA’s confidence in an ineffective assistance claim’s validity and strength. Matter of Rivera-Claros, 21 I. & N. Dec. 599, 604–
05 (BIA 1996). Second, it reduces the likelihood of the BIA having
to conduct an additional evidentiary hearing. Id. Third, it polices
the immigration bar to ensure quality representation in immigration proceedings. Id. Fourth, it lessens the chance of collusion between a petitioner and counsel. Id. Fifth, overarching disciplinary
authorities are well-positioned to determine if an attorney’s misconduct reflects a pattern of poor practice, as opposed to a one-off
instance. Matter of Melgar, 28 I. & N. Dec. 169, 170 (BIA 2020).
Nothing in Lozada—or any other published BIA or Eleventh
Circuit case—holds that an attorney’s state bar is the only appropriate disciplinary authority. If we read the BIA’s use of “appropriate disciplinary authority” to mean “state bar complaint,” we
would be rewriting the BIA’s own precedent, rather than allowing
the BIA to “screen ineffective-assistance claims by using the three
procedural requirements laid out in Lozada.” Point du Jour v. U.S.
Att’y Gen., 960 F.3d 1348, 1350 (11th Cir. 2020). Lozada simply referred to notifying the “appropriate disciplinary authorities” for an attorney’s breach of professional conduct in two separate instances.
See 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639 (emphasis added). The EOIR disciplinary
system is certainly an appropriate authority for a petitioner to
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report an ethical or legal violation that occurred in immigration
court.
We recognize that some BIA case law refers to the disciplinary authority requirement as the “bar complaint” requirement, a
moniker first coined eight years after Lozada in Rivera-Claros, since
one of the traditional disciplinary authorities petitioners have used
is the state bar where their counsel was licensed. Rivera-Claros,
21 I. & N. Dec. at 603; see also Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Ass’n, 436 U.S.
447, 466 n.28 (1978) (“The organized bars, operating under codes
approved by the highest state courts pursuant to statutory authority, have the primary responsibility for assuring compliance with
professional ethics and standards by . . . lawyers licensed by the
States.”). The immigration court’s disciplinary regulations in 1996,
the time Rivera-Claros was published, were “not intended to be a
comprehensive set of rules governing the practice of law in the immigration field and, indeed, [were] not as broad as the American
Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct (1995), for
example.” Rivera-Claros, 21 I. & N. Dec. at 604. Rivera-Claros explained that this was why immigration courts relied on state bar
disciplinary processes as “the first, and ordinarily the fastest, means
of identifying and correcting possible misconduct.” Id.
That may well have been true in 1996. 3 Nonetheless, a 2009
rule strengthened EOIR’s disciplinary framework to expressly
3 While it may have been true that the EOIR’s disciplinary authority was not
as developed as it is today, we are uncertain as to whether the EOIR should
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address the gaps in the immigration courts’ own disciplinary processes that were outlined in Rivera-Claros. See Professional Conduct
for Practitioners—Rules and Procedures, and Representation and
Appearances, 73 Fed. Reg. 76914, 76915 (Dec. 18, 2008) (codified at
8 C.F.R. pts. 1001, 1003, and 1292) (stating that the 2009 rule sought
“to strengthen the existing rules in light of the apparent gaps in the
current regulation” (citing Rivera-Claros, 21 I. & N. Dec. at 604)); see
also Rivera-Claros, 21 I. & N. Dec. at 609 (Schmidt, J. dissenting)
(noting that while EOIR’s disciplinary regulations in 1996 had
“proved largely ineffective to deal with lapses in professionalism,”
he believed that the regulations would “be revised in the future to
overcome [the outlined] shortcomings”). This change was designed to provide the immigration courts the “tools necessary to
control their courtrooms and protect the[ir] adjudicatory system
from fraud and abuse.” Professional Conduct for Practitioners,
73 Fed. Reg. at 76915. The 2009 rule modeled its expanded-sanction authority on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Id.
Now, the EOIR has a plethora of attorney discipline tools it
can utilize “in the public interest,” including the authority to impose disciplinary sanctions on a number of grounds. 8 C.F.R.
§ 1003.102. Those sanctions include disbarring or suspending
someone from practicing before the BIA or all immigration courts;
given the text of Lozada and the stated goals of the reporting requirement.
Regardless, we focus on the disciplinary authority as it exists today and at the
time Pasqual-Andres filed his motion to reopen.
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publicly or privately censuring an individual; or imposing other disciplinary sanctions as deemed appropriate. Id. §§ 1003.101(a)(1)–
(4); see, e.g., Matter of Singh, 26 I. & N. Dec. 623, 626 (BIA 2015)
(suspending an attorney after he enlisted his legal assistant to impersonate him before Immigration Judges); Matter of Shah, 24 I. &
N. Dec. 282, 288 (BIA 2007) (sanctioning an attorney for knowingly
and willfully misrepresenting a material fact). Also, while these
rules do not “supplant the disciplinary functions of the various
state bars,” they were designed to work in tandem with them. See
Professional Conduct for Practitioners, 73 Fed. Reg. at 76915; see,
e.g., Matter of Ramos, 23 I. & N. Dec. 843, 848 (BIA 2005) (expelling
an attorney after he was disbarred by the Supreme Court of Florida); Matter of Gadda, 23 I. & N. Dec. 645, 649 (BIA 2003) (expelling
an attorney after the California State Bar Court recommended that
he be disbarred). The EOIR may notify appropriate state or federal
disciplinary authorities about any disciplinary complaint filed in
lieu of, or in addition to, initiating its own disciplinary proceeding.
8 C.F.R. § 1003.106(d). Additionally, the EOIR “shall” report any
non-private sanctions to applicable disciplinary authorities in every
jurisdiction where the practitioner is licensed to practice. Id.; see
also Gadda v. Ashcroft, 377 F.3d 934, 940–43 (9th Cir. 2004) (describing parallel attorney disciplinary proceedings that occurred in the
BIA, a state court system, and federal court).
Given the enhancements to the EOIR’s disciplinary program
designed explicitly to address the concerns outlined in Rivera-Claros, we readily hold that an EOIR complaint is an appropriate disciplinary authority under Lozada. While Rivera-Claros recommended
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the state bar as “the first, and ordinarily the fastest,” authority, 21 I.
& N. Dec. at 604, it did not hold that state bar disciplinary processes
were the sole appropriate authority to satisfy the third prong of
Lozada. Nor did Lozada inform non-citizens that they must file
their disciplinary complaint with the state bar in order for it to satisfy the agency. See generally 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639–40. Indeed, our
precedent suggests that the EOIR is an “appropriate disciplinary
authority” under Lozada. In Point du Jour, we referred to both a bar
complaint and an EOIR complaint similarly as “complaints to disciplinary authorities” under Lozada. 960 F.3d at 1351 (noting that
Point du Jour submitted “two . . . disciplinary complaints” (emphasis added)).
Therefore, while a state bar complaint is an appropriate disciplinary authority for reporting deficient representation in immigration courts, we hold that it is not the only one. An EOIR complaint satisfies the third Lozada requirement, and the BIA abused its
discretion by holding otherwise. See Ferreira, 714 F.3d at 1243 (“The
BIA abuses its discretion when it misapplies the law in reaching its
decision.”).
C. Pasqual-Andres Substantially Complied with
Lozada
In the alternative, we grant the petition because Pasqual-Andres substantially complied with Lozada’s third requirement.
Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639.
When we first endorsed the BIA’s reliance on Lozada, we reserved for another day whether strict compliance was required or
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whether we would accept substantial compliance. See Gbaya,
342 F.3d at 1222–23 (ruling that the petitioner neither strictly nor
substantially complied with Lozada’s requirements, so we did not
need to decide whether substantial compliance was sufficient).
Since then, we have often repeated that we require “substantial, if
not exact, compliance with the procedural requirements of
Lozada . . . .” Dakane, 399 F.3d at 1274; see, e.g., Ponce Flores v. U.S.
Att’y Gen., 64 F.4th 1208, 1225 (11th Cir. 2023) (quoting Dakane, 399
F.3d at 1274 & n.7), overruled in part on other grounds by Wilkinson v.
Garland, 601 U.S. 209, 217 n.2 (2024). Yet, we have never squarely
addressed the substantial compliance issue because, in every case
we have confronted, the petitioner neither strictly nor substantially
complied with Lozada’s requirements. See, e.g., Point du Jour, 960
F.3d at 1350; but cf. Gutierrez-Mikan v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 163 F.4th 1331,
1335 (11th Cir. 2026) (“With Lozada still good law, Gutierrez-Mikan
had to substantially comply with its requirements to show her
counsel was ineffective.”).
We join the majority of our sister circuits in holding that
strict adherence to Lozada is not necessary. See Jian Yun Zheng v. U.S.
Dep’t of Just., 409 F.3d 43, 46 (2d Cir. 2005) (“[R]eview on the merits
may be conditioned on substantial compliance with the reasonable
requirements set forth in Lozada.”); Xu Yong Lu v. Ashcroft, 259 F.3d
127, 133 (3d Cir. 2001) (explaining that “[t]here are inherent dangers . . . in applying a strict, formulaic interpretation of Lozada,”
and generally agreeing with a “broader interpretation of Lozada”);
Barry v. Gonzales, 445 F.3d 741, 746 (4th Cir. 2006) (“We will reach
the merits of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim where the
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alien substantially complies with the Lozada requirements, such
that the BIA could have ascertained that the claim was not frivolous
and otherwise asserted to delay deportation.”); Habchy v. Gonzales,
471 F.3d 858, 863 (8th Cir. 2006) (“[A]n IJ does not abuse his discretion in requiring substantial compliance with the Lozada requirements when it is necessary to serve the overall purposes of
Lozada . . . .”); Castillo-Perez v. I.N.S., 212 F.3d 518, 526 (9th Cir. 2000)
(“While the requirements of Lozada are generally reasonable, they
need not be rigidly enforced where their purpose is fully served by
other means.”).4 Substantial compliance with the procedural requirements of Lozada is sufficient.
4 Two circuits appear to mandate strict compliance with Lozada’s requirements. See Hernandez-Ortez v. Holder, 741 F.3d 644, 647 (5th Cir. 2014); Lin Xing
Jiang v. Holder, 639 F.3d 751, 755 (7th Cir. 2011) (“[S]atisfying the requirements
of Lozada is a necessary condition to obtaining reopening on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel.” (quoting Jezierski v. Mukasey, 543 F.3d 886, 889
(7th Cir. 2008))). However, the Fifth Circuit in Hernandez-Ortez merely rejected the Ninth Circuit’s holding that a petitioner informed their former
counsel of the allegations against them—the second requirement—by filing a
grievance with the state disciplinary authority—the third requirement.
741 F.3d at 647–48. This aligns with Eleventh Circuit precedent, in which we
found that similar circumstances failed to satisfy Lozada’s requirements whole
cloth, given “the separate nature of the Lozada requirements.” Point du Jour,
960 F.3d at 1351 (“Reading compliance with the third Lozada requirement to
simultaneously constitute substantial compliance with the notice requirement
would eliminate any independent significance of the notice requirement.”).
The Seventh Circuit similarly did not confront an issue of substantial compliance in Lin Xing Jiang. There, the petitioner failed to satisfy any of the three
Lozada requirements. 639 F.3d at 755. Similarly, this would be insufficient in
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A petitioner substantially complies with Lozada when the requirements’ overall purposes are satisfied by the petitioner’s submission. See Gbaya, 342 F.3d at 1222 (relying on Lozada’s rationales
and policy objectives as a reason for endorsing it); cf. Point du Jour,
960 F.3d at 1351 (holding that satisfying Lozada’s third requirement
does not substantially comply with Lozada’s second requirement,
because they are separate requirements with distinct purposes); see
also Lo v. Ashcroft, 341 F.3d 934, 937 (9th Cir. 2003) (“When
[Lozada’s policy] goals are met, we have not insisted upon strict
compliance.”); Castillo-Perez, 212 F.3d at 526 (“While the requirements of Lozada are generally reasonable, they need not be rigidly
enforced where their purpose is fully served by other means.”);
Yang v. Gonzales, 478 F.3d 133, 143 (2d Cir. 2007) (referring to
Lozada’s policy rationales to find substantial compliance); Visoka v.
U.S. Att’y Gen., 201 F. App’x 755, 759 (11th Cir. 2006) (unpublished)
(holding that when the petitioner’s “‘notice’ d[id] not satisfy
[Lozada’s] policy, he cannot show even substantial compliance with
Lozada”).
Lozada’s stated reasons for the requirement that a petitioner
submit a complaint to an appropriate disciplinary authority are:
(1) “to deter meritless claims of ineffective representation,” and
(2) to “highlight[] the standards which should be expected of attorneys who represent persons in immigration proceedings . . . .” 19
I. & N. Dec. at 639–40. An EOIR disciplinary complaint satisfies
with Lozada when they wholly fail to comply with its requirements. Gbaya,
342 F.3d at 1222.
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18 Opinion of the Court 22-12848
these delineated policy rationales, especially in the wake of the
2009 rule. Any deterrence effect embodied in requiring a bar complaint is reflected in an EOIR complaint, given the coordination between them. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.106(d). Both threaten the possibility of severe sanctions, mandating that both the petitioner and the
respondent take the process seriously. See, e.g., 8 C.F.R.
§§ 1003.101(a)(1)–(4). Also, the EOIR process is narrowly tailored
to Lozada’s second goal. It enforces the requisite standards on every
attorney practicing in front of an immigration court, and the EOIR
possesses the power to prohibit attorneys from practicing in every
immigration court across the country. See id. § 1003.101(a)(1). This
is the same penalty the EOIR imposes when someone is suspended
from or disbarred by a state bar. Id. § 1003.103(a). Thus, an EOIR
complaint meets Lozada’s policy motivations.
Looking outside of Lozada, the EOIR disciplinary process
matches other proffered purposes for a “bar complaint” requirement. See Rivera-Claros, 21 I. & N. Dec. at 604–05; Melgar, 28 I. &
N. Dec. at 170. It increases confidence in effective assistance claims,
and it lessens the likelihood of collusion between a petitioner and
their lawyer, for the same reasons it deters meritless claims, discussed above. See supra pp. 11–13. It reduces the likelihood of additional discovery and hearings because it provides the EOIR an opportunity to first have a hearing and gather evidence. See 8 C.F.R.
§ 1003.106. The EOIR process polices the immigration bar specifi-cally to ensure that those who practice within it are working in the
public interest. See id. § 1003.102 (outlining broad grounds upon
which disciplinary sanctions may be imposed). Finally, reporting
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22-12848 Opinion of the Court 19
to the EOIR ensures that either it or the appropriate bar authority
can address a pattern of misconduct, as opposed to concealing a
standalone violation. See id. § 1003.106(d). These secondary purposes from Rivera-Claros and Melgar further support our conclusion
that the EOIR complaint substantially complies with the disciplinary complaint requirement.
Considering that the difference between a bar complaint and
an EOIR complaint is minor, and that an EOIR complaint satisfies
the same policy goals as the bar complaint, an EOIR complaint substantially complies with the third Lozada requirement. The BIA
abused its discretion in holding otherwise. 5
5 Pasqual-Andres also challenges the BIA’s refusal to reopen this case sua
sponte. We generally lack jurisdiction to review the BIA’s decision not to reopen a case sua sponte, because the BIA’s discretion is so extensive and standardless that it is not reviewable. Lenis v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 525 F.3d 1291, 1293–94
(11th Cir. 2008); see also Butka v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 827 F.3d 1278, 1285–86 (11th
Cir. 2016). However, we have explained that we might have jurisdiction to
review such a decision when the BIA’s refusal to reopen sua sponte raises colorable constitutional claims. See Bing Quan Lin v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 881 F.3d 860,
871 (11th Cir. 2018), overruled in part on other grounds by Santos-Zacaria, 598 U.S.
at 419-23 & n.2; Arias v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 482 F.3d 1281, 1284, 1284 n.2 (11th Cir.
2007). Here, we need not decide whether we can review this aspect of the
BIA’s decision, because we have already granted Pasqual-Andres the relief he
is seeking: vacatur of the BIA’s denial of his motion to reopen his immigration
proceedings. We decline to decide anything more. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429
U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (explaining that, generally, “courts . . . are not required to
make findings on issues the decision of which is unnecessary to the results they
reach”).
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20 Opinion of the Court 22-12848
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we grant Pasqual-Andres’s petition for review and vacate the BIA’s order denying the motion to
reopen.
PETITION GRANTED.
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22-12848 NEWSOM, J., Concurring in Part 1
NEWSOM, Circuit Judge, Concurring in part:
I concur in the Court’s judgment and join Parts I, II, III.A,
III.C, and IV of its opinion. I don’t join Part III.B – not necessarily
because I disagree with it, but because I don’t think it’s necessary
to the resolution of the case. The BIA concluded that Pasqual-Andres didn’t “substantially” comply with Lozada’s third prong when
he filed an EOIR complaint. Matter of Pasqual-Andres, A208-197-319
at 3 (BIA July 29, 2022) (unpublished). We hold today (1) that substantial compliance with Lozada is sufficient and (2) that PasqualAndres substantially complied. See Maj. Op. at 15–20. We needn’t
go further to hold, in the alternative, that Pasqual-Andres not only
substantially but also “strictly complied with Lozada.” Id. at 9 (emphasis added). “Reasonable minds can differ, of course, but my
own view . . . is that federal appellate courts should issue fewer alternative holdings.” United States v. Files, 63 F.4th 920, 931 (11th
Cir. 2023) (Newsom, J., concurring).
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22-12848 GRANT, J., Concurring in Part 1
GRANT, Circuit Judge, Concurring in part:
I respectfully concur in the majority opinion except for Part
III.C. It is not clear to me what “substantial compliance” means.
Many of our sister circuits that have deemed substantial compliance sufficient have done so in cases where they have not found it
present. See, e.g., Zheng v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 409 F.3d 43, 46–47 (2d
Cir. 2005); Lu v. Ashcroft, 259 F.3d 127, 133–35 (3d Cir. 2001); Barry
v. Gonzales, 445 F.3d 741, 745–46 (4th Cir. 2006); Habchy v. Gonzales,
471 F.3d 858, 863–864 (8th Cir. 2006). And others have found substantial compliance where it is quite likely that complete compliance was shown. See, e.g., Lo v. Ashcroft, 341 F.3d 934, 937–38 (9th
Cir. 2003); Buckley v. Blanche, 177 F.4th 326, 332–33 (1st Cir. 2026).
So these cases, whether together or apart, give us no road map.
And because EOIR reporting constitutes full compliance with
Lozada’s third requirement, the facts here neither present nor answer the substantial compliance question. Matter of Lozada, 19 I. &
N. Dec. 637, 639 (BIA 1988), overruled in part by Matter of Compean,
24 I. & N. Dec. 710, 710 (A.G. 2009), reinstated, 25 I. & N. Dec. 1
(A.G. 2009). I would save it for another day.