Souleymane Nimaga v. Todd W. Blanche

── Souleymane Nimaga v. Todd W. Blanche ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Date: April 29, 2026 Category: General In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 20-3065 SOULEYMANE NIMAGA, Petitioner, v. TODD W. BLANCHE, Acting Attorney General of the United States, Respondent. ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals No. A088-944-732 ____________________ ARGUED SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 — DECIDED APRIL 29, 2026 ____________________ Before ROVNER, HAMILTON, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges. ROVNER, Circuit Judge. Souleymane Nimaga, a native of Ivory Coast and a citizen of Mali, seeks review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision affirming the denial of his mo- tion to reopen his Immigration Court proceeding and rescind the order of removal that the Immigration Judge entered in 2 No. 20-3065 absentia when Nimaga failed to appear for a hearing. For the reasons that follow, we deny the petition for review. I. Nimaga entered the United States in August 2000 as a non- immigrant student. In 2010, the Department of Homeland Se- curity (“DHS”) issued a Notice to Appear and initiated a re- moval proceeding based on Nimaga’s failure to carry a full course of study from 2002 to 2010. Through his counsel, Nim- aga admitted the factual allegations set forth in the Notice and conceded his removability as charged. After several adjourn- ments and continuances in the proceeding, an individual hearing was scheduled for October 1, 2019, at 3 p.m. in Chi- cago. Meanwhile, on November 8, 2016, while Nimaga’s case was pending before the Immigration Court, his citizen spouse had been arrested for domestic violence after she struck Nim- aga over the head with a large stack of paper and attempted to stab him with a kitchen knife. She eventually pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness and was ordered to serve one year in jail, with all but four days of that term suspended, and one year of probation. The couple ultimately divorced in 2018. In 2017, Nimaga applied for a U visa and filed an EOIR-42B application for cancellation of removal and adjustment of sta- tus to that of a legal permanent resident as a victim of domes- tic violence, pursuant to section 40703 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796, 1955 (Sept. 13, 1994), and its legislative successors. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(a)(15)(U), 1154(a)(1), 1229b, 1255(a); 8 C.F.R. §§ 204.2(c)(1)(vi), 214.14(a)(10). No. 20-3065 3 In June 2019, Nimaga’s attorney sought to withdraw as his counsel based on a breakdown in communication and Nim- aga’s failure to pay his attorney’s fees. The Immigration Court granted that motion on June 17, 2019. Nimaga made plans to attend the October 1, 2019, hearing. The hearing was in Chicago, and Nimaga lived in Indianapo- lis, a three-plus hour drive away. He did not have a car, but he made arrangements with a friend, Brice Bassa: Bassa was to borrow his girlfriend’s car and give Nimaga a ride to Chi- cago. (Bassa had his own vehicle, but it was unreliable.) As a backup, Nimaga planned to take a Greyhound bus to Chicago if the ride with Bassa fell through. In August 2019, Nimaga was working at the Indiana State Fair. With his work authorization due to expire on August 30, he worked his last day at the Fair on August 27. He took home with him the $2,200 in cash he was paid by the Fair, and later that night someone broke into his apartment and stole all of his money. He reported the burglary to the Indianapolis po- lice, who provided him with an information card reflecting the report. As a practical matter, he could not find