Case Explained: REYES LOPEZ, ET AL. V. BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-06-24 The ninth-circuit denied the petition for review in consolidated immigration cases involving asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture claims, while dismissing in part a related petition challenging a motion to reopen. The court applied the substantial evidence standard to factual findings and de novo review to constitutional claims, rejecting the petitioners’ contention that the agency failed to consider all evidence as unsupported by the record. Regarding the motion to reopen, the court found no legal or constitutional error in the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision and held it lacked jurisdiction to review the discretionary denial of a sua sponte reopening request beyond those limited grounds. The court further determined that an equal protection challenge to the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was foreclosed by binding precedent. As a practical consequence, the petitions were denied or dismissed, the temporary stay of removal was lifted, and the petitioners’ motion to stay removal was denied. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.