Does the Attorney General have a duty to exercise his discretion to suspend deportation?

[T]his court has noted, "[b]ecause hardship depends on specific circumstances discretion can be properly exercised only if the circumstances are actually considered." Santana-Figueroa v. INS, 644 F.2d 1354, 1357 (9th Cir.1981) (citation omitted). Without question, the appropriate exercise of the Attorney General's discretion to suspend deportation is predicated on a properly focused factual inquiry into the hardships claimed by the petitioner. This obligation of the BIA is most compelling where a reviewing court has identified a failure on the part of the BIA to consider relevant factual material.