Andre Barbosa-Ferreira v. Eric Holder, Jr.

526 F. App'x 411
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedMay 21, 2013
Docket12-60170
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 526 F. App'x 411 (Andre Barbosa-Ferreira v. Eric Holder, Jr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Andre Barbosa-Ferreira v. Eric Holder, Jr., 526 F. App'x 411 (5th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

KAZEN, District Judge: **

The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed a decision by an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) finding that the Petitioner’s request for asylum was untimely and that he was not entitled to withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1281 or relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Petitioner now seeks review from this Court.

I. BACKGROUND

Petitioner Andre Luis Barbosa Ferreira (“Ferreira”), a native of Brazil born in 1979, entered the United States on June 9, 2001, on a student visa. He did not maintain his student status beyond 2002, but remained in the United States. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security issued Ferreira a Notice to Appear, charging that he was removable as an alien who had failed to maintain or comply with the conditions of his nonimmigrant status. Ferreira conceded his removability, but applied for asylum and sought relief through withholding of removal and protection under the CAT.

At his hearing in front of the IJ, Fer-reira testified that as an openly gay man, he feared persecution and torture if he returned to Brazil. He stated that he had not been physically harmed before, but that in 2001, he and a friend were stopped by police after leaving a bar in a gay neighborhood in his hometown of Patos de Minas. The police threatened and harassed Ferreira and assaulted his friend. He further testified that in 2005, after he had been in the United States for several years, he began living an openly gay lifestyle. Shortly before his arrest in 2009, he revealed his homosexuality to his brother, who was living in Louisiana. Ferreira also submitted into evidence the 2009 U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report for Brazil (“Report”) and news articles discussing the difficulties homosexuals face in Brazil.

The IJ denied Ferreira’s application for asylum, finding it untimely because he did not apply within one year of his entry into the United States and had not shown changed or extraordinary circumstances that excused his delay. The IJ also determined that Ferreira was ineligible for withholding of removal because he failed to establish that he faced a clear probability of persecution upon return to Brazil, and that he was ineligible for relief under the CAT because he had not shown that he was likely to be tortured in Brazil. Fer-reira appealed to the BIA, which agreed with the IJ’s findings and dismissed the appeal.

II. Standard of Review

With respect to the asylum claim, as we explain below, we cannot review it and we only have jurisdiction to review the determinations regarding withholding of removal and the CAT. The BIA’s conclusion that an alien is not eligible for withholding of removal or relief under the CAT is a factual finding that we review for substantial evidence. Chen v. Gonzales, 470 F.3d 1131, 1134 (5th Cir.2006). “Under the substantial evidence standard, reversal is improper unless we decide not only that the evidence supports a contrary conclusion, but also that the evidence compels it.” Id. *414 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). This court reviews decisions made by the BIA and only considers the rulings and findings of the IJ if they impact the BIA’s decision. Efe v. Ashcroft, 293 F.3d 899, 903 (5th Cir.2002). Since the BIA agreed with the IJ’s findings and conclusions, the IJ’s findings are renewable. Id.

III. DISCUSSION

A.Asylum

An alien seeking asylum must file an application within one year after his arrival in the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(2)(B). The one-year deadline may be excused however, “if the alien demonstrates ... either the existence of changed circumstances which materially affect the applicant’s eligibility for asylum or extraordinary circumstances relating to the delay in filing an application.” Id. § 1158(a)(2)(D). We lack jurisdiction to review determinations of timeliness that are based on the facts and circumstances of a case, although we do have jurisdiction over determinations based on constitutional claims or questions of law. Id. §§ 1158(a)(3), 1252(a)(2)(D); Zhu v. Gonzales, 493 F.3d 588, 594-95 (5th Cir.2007); Nakimbugwe v. Gonzales, 475 F.3d 281, 284 n. 1 (5th Cir.2007). In this case, the underlying determination of timeliness turned entirely on questions of fact. The BIA upheld the IJ’s determination that Ferreira’s unfamiliarity with the English language and revelation of his homosexuality to his brother did not constitute extraordinary or changed circumstances that excused his untimely filing. Therefore, we have no jurisdiction to review the asylum claim.

B.Withholding of Removal

An applicant is eligible for withholding of removal if he or she demonstrates a clear probability of persecution upon return, which means that it is “more likely than not that the applicant’s life or freedom would be threatened by persecution on account of either his race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” Roy v. Ashcroft, 389 F.3d 132, 138 (5th Cir.2004). A clear probability of persecution can be established through evidence of either a past or future threat to life or freedom. 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(b)(l)-(2). Discrimination, harassment, and threats are not significant enough harm to be considered persecution. See Eduard v. Ashcroft, 379 F.3d 182, 188 (5th Cir.2004).

Ferreira argues that he established past persecution based on the incident when, after leaving a bar frequented by gay men, police officers detained him and a friend and physically assaulted the friend. Substantial evidence supports the determination by the BIA and IJ that this single incident, in which Ferreira was threatened and harassed but not injured, did not constitute persecution.

Nonetheless, an alien who has not suffered past persecution can demonstrate a future threat to life or freedom by either showing that he will be singled out for persecution or that a pattern or practice of persecution of a group of persons similarly situated to the applicant exists. 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(b)(2)(i)-(ii). Ferreira has neither shown that he will be singled out for persecution nor that a pattern or practice of persecution against homosexual men exists in Brazil.

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526 F. App'x 411, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/andre-barbosa-ferreira-v-eric-holder-jr-ca5-2013.