Yuehua Liu v. U.S. Attorney General

665 F. App'x 829
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 6, 2016
Docket16-11575
StatusUnpublished

This text of 665 F. App'x 829 (Yuehua Liu v. U.S. Attorney General) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yuehua Liu v. U.S. Attorney General, 665 F. App'x 829 (11th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Yuehua Liu seeks review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Liu, a native and citizen of China, claimed past persecution and a well-founded fear of future persecution in China on account of her participation in an underground Christian church. Liu’s petition challenges the IJ’s determinations, adopted by the BIA, that Liu failed to show she suffered past harm in China rising to the level of persecution or that there was a reasonable possibility of future harm on account of her religion Or other protected ground given that other members of her underground church continued to reside and work in China without harm. After review, we deny the petition for review. 1

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

To establish eligibility for asylum, the applicant must show either past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social *831 group, or political opinion. Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) § 101(a)(42)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A); Ruiz v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 440 F.3d 1247, 1257 (11th Cir. 2006); 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(a), (b). Similarly, to show eligibility for withholding of removal under the INA, an applicant must show that it is more likely than not that he has been or will be persecuted on account of one of the five protected grounds. INA § 241(b)(3), 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3); Sepulveda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 401 F.3d 1226, 1232 (11th Cir. 2005). Because this standard is more stringent than the standard for asylum, an alien who fails to establish asylum eligibility generally cannot satisfy the higher burden for withholding of removal. Id. at 1232-33.

Although the INA does not define persecution, this Court has recognized that it is “an extreme concept, requiring more than a few isolated incidents of verbal harassment or intimidation.” Id. at 1231 (quotation marks omitted). We evaluate the harm a petitioner suffered cumulatively and by considering the totality of the circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Shi v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 707 F.3d 1231, 1235-36 (11th Cir. 2013).

Accordingly, this Court has concluded that threats in conjunction with brief detentions or a minor physical attack that does not result in serious physical injury do not rise to the level of persecution. See, e.g„ Kazemzadeh v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 577 F.3d 1341, 1352-53 (11th Cir. 2009) (four-day detention, five-hour interrogation and beating with no evidence of physical harm, and post-incarceration monitoring); Djonda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 514 F.3d 1168, 1171-72 (11th Cir. 2008) (36-hour detention, beatings with a belt resulting in scratches and bruises, two-day hospitalization, and threat of arrest); Zheng v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 451 F.3d 1287, 1290-91 (11th Cir. 2006) (five-day detention, during which the alien was forced to watch anti-Falun Gong videos, stand in the sun for two hours, and sign a statement promising to no longer practice Falun Gong). On the other hand, we have found that longer detentions coupled with either multiple beatings or “singularly cruel” tactics that result in the need for medical attention have constituted persecution. See, e.g., Shi, 707 F.3d at 1235-39 (seven-day detention and two interrogations, one involving physical abuse and the other handcuffing to a bar overnight in the rain, resulting in illness and medical treatment); Niftaliev v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 504 F.3d 1211, 1215-17 (11th Cir. 2007) (threats, numerous interrogation and beatings during a 15-day detention' that resulted in a two-month hospitalization, and two subsequent physical attacks); Ruiz v. Gonzales, 479 F.3d 762, 766 (11th Cir. 2007) (18-day detention accompanied by threats and multiple beatings).

II. LIU’S PERSECUTION CLAIMS

A. Past Persecution

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s and BIA’s conclusion that Liu failed to show she suffered past persecution. 2 Liu testified that after police arrested her and other members of her church group, she was detained for seven days *832 and interrogated twice. During her second interrogation, Liu was slapped and kicked and her hair was pulled, but she did not report any resulting injuries. Although Liu, like the petitioner in Shi, was detained for a week, Liu was not subjected to “singularly cruel” tactics such as being handcuffed to a bar outside overnight in the rain. See Shi, 707 F.3d at 1238-39. Importantly, the petitioner in Shi became ill, was released after authorities feared he would die in custody, and then sought medical treatment. Liu, on the other hand, did not present any evidence that she needed medical attention as a result of her treatment during detention. See id. This Court has held that individuals who suffered similar or worse abuse did not suffer harm rising to the level of persecution. See Kazemzadeh, 577 F.3d at 1353; Djonda, 514 F.3d at 1171, 1174; Zheng, 451 F.3d at 1289-91.

As to economic persecution, Liu did not show that her economic hardship as a result of her job loss was so severe that she was deprived of a means of earning a living. See Barreto-Claro v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 275 F.3d 1334, 1340 (11th Cir. 2001). While Liu stated that she had no means of earning an income, she did not provide any evidence other than her conclusory statement to that effect. Like the petitioner in Zheng, Liu presented no evidence that she searched for another job after she was fired; Liu merely testified that she did not have any other jobs in China and that she did not try to get her job back because it would have been futile. See Zheng, 451 F.3d at 1291. Further, the other members of her church group were able to work in China.

Considering the facts of Liu’s detention, the conditions of her release, and her economic situation, Liu’s case is more akin to Zheng, in which the petitioner was detained for five days, suffered some mistreatment but was not harmed, was forced to renounce Falun Gong, and lost his job, and the record in Zheng did not compel the conclusion that he suffered past persecution. See Zheng, 451 F.3d at 1290-91.

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Related

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275 F.3d 1334 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
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Niftaliev v. U.S. Attorney General
504 F.3d 1211 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Lopez v. U.S. Attorney General
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Djonda v. US Atty. Gen.
514 F.3d 1168 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
Mehmeti v. U.S. Attorney General
572 F.3d 1196 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Kazemzadeh v. U.S. Attorney General
577 F.3d 1341 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
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Jiaren Shi v. U.S. Attorney General
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A-M
23 I. & N. Dec. 737 (Board of Immigration Appeals, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
665 F. App'x 829, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yuehua-liu-v-us-attorney-general-ca11-2016.