Saydullo Akbarov v. Attorney General United States

629 F. App'x 309
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedOctober 9, 2015
Docket13-1594
StatusUnpublished

This text of 629 F. App'x 309 (Saydullo Akbarov v. Attorney General United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Saydullo Akbarov v. Attorney General United States, 629 F. App'x 309 (3d Cir. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION *

COWEN, Circuit Judge.

Saydullo Shermahamadovic Akbarov and his wife, Donohon Hatamjanovna Ak-barova (together, “Petitioners”), petition for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals, which affirmed the decision of an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denying their motion to reopen and reconsider her August 2010 decision denying their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). For the following reasons, we will deny the petition for review.

I.

Because we write solely for the parties, we will only set forth the facts necessary to inform our analysis.

Petitioners are natives of the former USSR and citizens of Uzbekistan. They last entered the United States in October 2005. In September 2008, the Department of Homeland Security commenced removal proceedings against them. They each filed their own applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief based on their Muslim faith and Akbarov’s belief that he and his family had been placed on a “blacklist” by Uzbekistan’s National Security Service (“NSS”) following Petitioners’ wedding. Akbarov testified that an NSS official told him that he and his family were placed on the “blacklist” because they did not practice Islam in accordance with state sanctions. Petitioners also sought asylum because they fear the Uzbek government is targeting witnesses of a massacre of Muslims that occurred in An-dijan’s Bobur Square. The massacre had followed a protest against the Uzbek gov- *311 eminent. Although Petitioners did not personally witness the events, they claim they have a well-founded fear of future persecution because the Uzbek government may perceive them to have witnessed the event given their arrival in Andijan shortly after the massacre occurred and the fact that they spoke to family and friends who had witnessed it.

The IJ designated Akbarov the lead respondent, as his application presented Petitioners’ primary claim. In July 2010, the IJ denied Petitioners’ applications for relief, concluding that Petitioners had failed to adequately corroborate their claims. Specifically, the IJ noted that Petitioners did not corroborate the following: (1) their claims regarding the practice of their Muslim faith and their assertion that their practice would bring them to the attention of the Uzbek government, and (2) either the existence of a “blacklist” or Petitioners’ presence on it. In addition, the IJ denied their applications on the merits, concluding that Petitioners had not suffered any past persecution, and that they failed to demonstrate a well-founded fear of future persecution because they did not establish that they would be singled out for persecution based on their Muslim faith or that they are similarly situated to individuals against whom there is a pattern or practice of persecution by the Uzbek government. Because Petitioners failed to satisfy the lower burden of proof required for asylum, the IJ also denied their applications for withholding of removal. The IJ also found that Petitioners failed to demonstrate that it was more likely than not that they would be tortured upon returning to Uzbekistan.

Petitioners did not appeal the IJ’s merits decision. Rather, they filed before the IJ a timely motion to reconsider her denial of their applications for relief and a motion to reopen. They sought reconsideration, arguing that the IJ (1) had impermissibly denied their applications for relief based on inadequate corroboration, (2) had incorrectly concluded that they were not Muslims who would be persecuted in Uzbekistan and were not similarly situated to those against whom a pattern or practice of persecution was directed by the government of Uzbekistan, and (3) had incorrectly denied their request for CAT relief. Petitioners sought to reopen their case based on what they asserted was previously unavailable evidence.

The IJ denied the motion for reconsideration, concluding that Petitioners had not pointed to any error of law or fact in her prior decision. In addition, the IJ noted that most of the evidence that served as the basis of Petitioners’ motion to reopen was not previously unavailable. Of the remaining evidence, the IJ found that there was nothing to support Petitioners’ claim that their practice of Islam would subject them to persecution by the Uzbek government. The IJ therefore denied the motion to reopen as well.

On appeal, the BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision. As to Petitioners’ motion for reconsideration, the BIA concluded that the IJ had adequately provided notice to Petitioners of the required corroboration. Moreover, the BIA concluded that the IJ properly found Petitioners failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution, in light of the fact that they were unable to demonstrate that they were similarly situated to those who are persecuted by the Uzbek government. The BIA refused to consider whether Petitioners were part of additional social groups that had not been properly asserted before the IJ. Finally, the BIA concluded that the IJ correctly denied the motion to reopen, agreeing that most of the “new” evidence was not previously unavailable and the remaining evidence did not establish prima *312 facie eligibility for relief. The current appeal followed.

II.

Petitioners appealed the IJ’s denial of their motions to reopen and reconsider to the BIA, which affirmed the IJ’s decision. “If the BIA summarily affirms an IJ’s order, we review the IJ’s decision as the final administrative determination. When the BIA issues a separate opinion — as it did in [Petitioners’] case — -we review the BIA’s disposition and look to the IJ’s ruling only insofar as the BIA defers to it.” Huang v. Att’y Gen., 620 F.3d 372, 379 (3d Cir.2010) (citations omitted).

We review the BIA’s denial of a motion to reconsider or a motion to reopen for abuse of discretion. Pllumi v. Att’y Gen., 642 F.3d 155, 158 (3d Cir.2011). We do not disturb factual findings of the agency unless they are unsupported by substantial evidence. Filja v. Gonzales, 447 F.3d 241, 251 (3d Cir.2006) (citation omitted).

A. The Motion to Reconsider

There is no merit to Petitioners’ argument that the IJ failed to adequately consider their country conditions materials. As the BIA noted, it is well settled that an IJ1 “need not discuss each and every piece of evidence ... when rendering a decision, as long as that decision is substantially supported,” and we are persuaded that the IJ adequately considered the record before it. Yan Lan Wu v. Ashcroft, 393 F.3d 418, 425 n. 10 (3d Cir.2005).

Petitioners primarily take aim at the IJ’s conclusions regarding corroboration of certain of their claims.

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629 F. App'x 309, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saydullo-akbarov-v-attorney-general-united-states-ca3-2015.