Juan Lopez Rueda De Leon v. Jefferson Sessions, II

697 F. App'x 310
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 1, 2017
Docket16-60292
StatusUnpublished

This text of 697 F. App'x 310 (Juan Lopez Rueda De Leon v. Jefferson Sessions, II) 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
Juan Lopez Rueda De Leon v. Jefferson Sessions, II, 697 F. App'x 310 (5th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

*311 PER CURIAM: *

Juan Manuel Lopez Rueda De Leon (“Lopez”) appeals the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) order denying him relief. For the reasons set forth below, we DENY his appeal.

I. Factual Background and BIA Decision

Lopez is a citizen of Mexico. He was detained upon entering the United States with his wife and two daughters, but his place of detention was many miles from that of the rest of his family. Lopez told border officials that he feared persecution in Mexico by the Mexican Marines (the “Marines”) (part of the Mexican Navy) because they made his stepson disappear and because of his family’s subsequent protestations to the Mexican government. The Department of Homeland Security issued Lopez a notice to appear and charged him as subject to removal.

Lopez’s merits hearing took place on February 4, 2015. Lopez testified that in June 2014, his stepson, a United States citizen and Texas resident, was visiting the family in Mexico when he was arrested and was made to “disappear” by the Marines. Mexican authorities have never provided an explanation for his son’s disappearance. Lopez testified that he and his wife reported their son’s disappearance to American and Mexican authorities and protested his disappearance publicly. He and his wife also filed a “denunciation for human rights.”

The same day that Lopez’s wife met with Mexican officials regarding the son’s disappearance, Lopez testified that his neighbor Pilar called his family and notified them that the Marines destroyed their house by taking all the furniture and possessions. Lopez and his family were away from their house when this incident occurred and did not return. He said he and his wife notified Mexican and American authorities about this incident. Lopez and his wife and two daughters entered the United States several days later.

The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) stated that he was satisfied that Lopez’s son was kidnapped and missing and that Lopez and his wife tried to find out what happened. But the IJ asked Lopez whether it was possible that the Marines were executing a search warrant of his house because his son was involved in criminal activity. Lopez responded that he did not know and had not been presented with a warrant; he had considered the possibility that his son was involved in criminal activity when his son first disappeared but rejected it because Mexican authorities never explained what happened to his son. Lopez conceded, however, that it was common practice for the Marines to cordon off the street when executing a search warrant and that his neighbors had reported that the street at his house was cordoned off. Lopez indicated that he was unable to provide additional corroborating evidence such as evidence from his neighbor because his wife had all the necessary contact information, and he was housed separately from her.

Despite his finding that Lopez testified credibly, the IJ denied Lopez’s application for a variety of reasons. The IJ concluded that Lopez failed to corroborate his testimony. The IJ also found that even if Lopez’s house was ransacked by the Marines, Lopez’s belief that he would be harmed by the Marines was speculative because it was possible that the Marines executed a search warrant of his house in furtherance *312 of a criminal investigation of his son. The IJ next found that Lopez failed to show that he was or will be persecuted by the Marines on account of a protected ground. Accordingly, the IJ concluded Lopez was not entitled to asylum or withholding of removal. The IJ also denied Lopez’s claim under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”).'

On appeal to the BIA, Lopez argued that his due process rights were violated, that he should be permitted to present new evidence, and that he was persecuted on account of his actual or imputed political opinion and his membership in the particular social group of his family. Finally, he argued that it was likely that he would be arrested and tortured if he returned to Mexico.

The BIA dismissed Lopez’s appeal. It rejected Lopez’s due process arguments, and it declined to remand the case to the IJ for consideration of new evidence. The BIA accepted the IJ’s finding that Lopez was not persecuted on account of his membership in a particular social group, and rejected Lopez’s claim of persecution on account of political opinion because Lopez’s fear stemmed only from a complaint he made against Mexican authorities regarding the disappearance of his son. Lastly, the BIA accepted the IJ’s finding that Lopez will not be tortured if returned to Mexico.

Lopez filed a timely petition for review.

II. Discussion

A. Standard of Review

We generally have the authority to review only the BIA’s decision, Wang v. Holder, 569 F.3d 531, 536 (5th Cir. 2009), and the BIA’s legal conclusions are reviewed de novo, Orellana-Monson v. Holder, 685 F.3d 511, 517 (5th Cir. 2012). But, we may review the IJ’s factual findings adopted by the BIA. Wang, 569 F.3d at 536. Findings of fact are reviewed “under the substantial evidence standard, which requires that the decision of the BIA be based on the evidence presented and that the decision be substantially reasonable.” Orellana-Monson, 685 F.3d at 517-18. “Under the substantial evidence standard, reversal is improper unless the court decides ‘not only that the evidence supports a contrary conclusion, but also that the evidence compels it.’” Id. at 518 (quoting Chen v. Gonzales, 470 F.3d 1131, 1134 (5th Cir. 2006)); see also Kane v. Holder, 581 F.3d 231, 236 (5th Cir. 2009) (noting that “we may not reverse merely because we would have decided the case differently” (citation omitted)). “The petitioner has the burden of showing that the evidence is so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could reach a contrary conclusion.” Orellana-Monson, 685 F.3d at 518 (citation omitted). “[T]he possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the evidence does not prevent an administrative agency’s finding from being supported by substantial evidence.” Arif v. Mukasey, 509 F.3d 677, 679 (5th Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (quoting Consolo v. Fed. Mar. Comm’n, 383 U.S. 607, 620, 86 S.Ct. 1018, 16 L.Ed.2d 131 (1966)). But an IJ’s determinations “still ‘must be supported by specific and cogent reasons derived from the record.’ ” Wang, 569 F.3d at 537 (quoting Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2005)). This standard of review also applies to petitions for review of factual-findings regarding the CAT. See Chen,

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Bluebook (online)
697 F. App'x 310, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/juan-lopez-rueda-de-leon-v-jefferson-sessions-ii-ca5-2017.