Antonio Castro v. Attorney General United States ( 2019 )


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  • DLD-045                                                        NOT PRECEDENTIAL
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
    ___________
    Nos. 19-1096 & 19-2691
    ___________
    ANTONIO MELQUEZIDETH CASTRO,
    a/k/a Jose Castro Serrano,
    Petitioner
    v.
    ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
    ____________________________________
    On Petitions for Review of Orders of the
    Board of Immigration Appeals
    (Agency No. A203-048-602)
    Immigration Judge: Leo A. Finston
    ____________________________________
    Submitted on Respondent’s Motions for Summary Disposition
    Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
    November 14, 2019
    Before: RESTREPO, PORTER and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges
    (Opinion filed: December 13, 2019)
    _________
    OPINION*
    _________
    PER CURIAM
    *
    This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
    constitute binding precedent.
    In these consolidated petitions for review, Antonio Melquezideth Castro seeks
    review of two orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The Government filed
    motions for summary disposition asking us to deny the petitions. Because the petitions
    present no substantial question for review, we will grant the Government’s motions and
    will deny the petitions for review.
    Castro, a citizen of Belize, entered the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor in
    November 2000. On June 17, 2002, he pleaded guilty in New Jersey state court to
    endangering the welfare of a child. See N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:24-4A. Based on that
    conviction, the Government issued a notice to appear in September 2017, charging Castro
    with removability as an alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, 8 U.S.C.
    § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i), and a crime of child abuse, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i). Castro filed
    an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United
    Nations Convention Against Torture, claiming that he will be persecuted and tortured in
    Belize based on his membership in a particular social group of convicted sex offenders.
    He also sought a continuance to “better prepare” in response to the issuance of In re A-B-
    , 27 I. & N. Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018). Furthermore, Castro filed a motion to terminate the
    proceedings on the ground that the Notice to Appear was defective because it did not
    contain the date and time of his initial removal hearing, see Pereira v. Sessions, 
    138 S. Ct. 2105
    (2018).
    An Immigration Judge denied all relief and Castro appealed. The Board affirmed
    the IJ’s denial of a continuance, noting that after the issuance of In re A-B- on June 11,
    2018, Castro had nearly one month to prepare for his final hearing on July 9, 2018. In
    2
    addition, the Board concluded that Castro had failed to demonstrate that he was
    prejudiced by the denial of the continuance request. With respect to Castro’s Pereira
    argument, the Board held that, although Castro’s notice to appear did not specify the time
    and place of his initial removal hearing, the IJ had jurisdiction because a notice of hearing
    including that information was later sent to Castro. In re Bermudez-Cota, 27 I. &. N.
    Dec. 441 (BIA 2018). The Board further concluded that Castro had not established
    eligibility for asylum because his “fear of future persecution is not objectively
    reasonable.” In particular, the BIA stated that “[o]verall, [Castro’s] belief that, upon his
    removal to Belize, someone will learn of his past criminal history in the United States
    and, in turn, harm him in a manner rising to the level of persecution is too speculative and
    insufficiently corroborated to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution.”
    Because Castro failed to satisfy the burden of proof required for asylum, the Board held
    that he also necessarily failed to satisfy the clear probability standard for withholding of
    removal. Finally, the Board held that Castro’s fear of harassment was “too speculative”
    to demonstrate that he would more likely than not be subjected to torture if returned to
    Belize. Castro filed a petition for review, which was docketed here at C.A. No. 19-1096.
    Meanwhile, Castro filed with the Board a motion to reopen and to terminate the
    removal proceedings, arguing that he had a pending post-conviction petition in state court
    that could potentially vacate this child endangerment conviction. The Board denied the
    motion to reopen, noting that the pendency of a post-conviction petition does not negate
    the finality of a conviction for immigration purposes. Castro filed another petition for
    review, which was docketed here at C.A. No. 19-2691. The petitions for review have
    3
    been consolidated. In both cases, the Government has filed a motion for summary
    disposition.
    We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a) to review the Board’s final order of
    removal and its denial of Castro’s motion to reopen. We review the agency’s legal
    conclusions under a de novo standard, but must uphold the agency’s factual findings
    “unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary.” 8
    U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B); see also Mendoza-Ordonez v. Att’y Gen., 
    869 F.3d 164
    , 169 (3d
    Cir. 2017). Where the BIA has affirmed the IJ’s denial of a continuance request, we
    apply an abuse of discretion standard. See Ponce-Leiva v. Ashcroft, 
    331 F.3d 369
    , 377
    (3d Cir. 2003). An abuse of discretion standard also applies to the BIA’s denial of a
    motion to reopen. See Filja v. Gonzales, 
    447 F.3d 241
    , 251 (3d Cir. 2006). That decision
    is entitled to “broad deference,” Ezeagwuna v. Ashcroft, 
    325 F.3d 396
    , 409 (3d Cir.
    2003), and “will not be disturbed unless [it is] found to be arbitrary, irrational, or contrary
    to law,” Guo v. Ashcroft, 
    386 F.3d 556
    , 562 (3d Cir. 2004) (quoting Tipu v. INS, 
    20 F.3d 580
    , 582 (3d Cir. 1994)).
    The BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Castro’s motion for a continuance.
    See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.29 (stating that an IJ may “grant a motion for continuance for good
    cause shown”). Castro sought a continuance so that he could “better prepare” for his
    merits hearing in light of a recently-issued decision, In re A-B-. But that decision was
    issued approximately one month before the hearing, and Castro did not indicate why that
    period of time was insufficient to prepare. Furthermore, although due process “requires
    that an alien be provided with a full and fair hearing and a reasonable opportunity to
    4
    present evidence,” Romanishyn v. Att’y Gen., 
    455 F.3d 175
    , 185 (3d Cir. 2006), Castro
    did not explain how he was prejudiced, Singh v. Gonzales, 
    432 F.3d 533
    , 541 (3d Cir.
    2006). Under these circumstances, we cannot say that the denial of the continuance
    request was arbitrary, irrational, or contrary to law.
    The IJ and the BIA also properly rejected Castro’s reliance on Pereira. In that
    case, the Supreme Court held that a notice to appear “that does not specify the ‘time and
    place at which the proceedings will be held,’ as required by [8 U.S.C.]
    § 1229(a)(1)(G)(i),” is not capable of triggering the stop-time rule in cancellation of
    removal 
    cases. 138 S. Ct. at 2113-14
    . Castro argued that the immigration court lacked
    jurisdiction over his proceedings because the notice to appear in his case also failed to
    include the time and place of the initial removal hearing. Notably, though, we recently
    rejected an attempt to extend Pereira in this manner. See Nkomo v. Att’y Gen., 
    930 F.3d 129
    , 131-34 (3d Cir. 2019).
    We further conclude that substantial evidence supports the BIA’s holding that
    Castro is ineligible for asylum. An applicant for asylum has the burden of establishing
    that he is unable or unwilling to return to his home country because of persecution or a
    well-founded fear of persecution on account of, inter alia, membership in a particular
    social group. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A); Abdille v. Ashcroft, 
    242 F.3d 477
    , 482 (3d Cir.
    2001). “[P]ersecution connotes extreme behavior, including threats to life, confinement,
    torture, and economic restrictions so severe that they constitute a threat to life or
    freedom.” Ahmed v. Ashcroft, 
    341 F.3d 214
    , 217 (3d Cir. 2003) (quotations omitted). It
    “does not include all treatment that our society regards as unfair, unjust, or even unlawful
    5
    or unconstitutional.” 
    Id. To establish
    a well-founded fear of future persecution, an alien
    must show that his fear is subjectively genuine and objectively reasonable, see Zubeda v.
    Ashcroft, 
    333 F.3d 463
    , 469 (3d Cir. 2003), meaning that the alien “has a subjective fear
    of persecution that is supported by objective evidence that persecution is a reasonable
    possibility.” Chavarria v. Gonzalez, 
    446 F.3d 508
    , 520 (3d Cir. 2006). Castro claimed
    that he will be persecuted because of his membership in a particular social group
    consisting of “convicted sex offenders being targeted in the Belizean community.” In
    support of this claim, Castro submitted evidence that Belizean citizens have started online
    efforts to publicly identify convicted sex offenders, who are ostracized in that country.
    But Castro did not allege that he has been threatened, and he did not present evidence
    indicating that anyone in Belize will learn of his criminal history. Moreover, as the
    Board properly concluded, Castro also failed to present evidence that convicted sex
    offenders have been harmed in Belize, and the discrimination he fears does not rise to the
    level of persecution. See 
    Ahmed, 341 F.3d at 217
    . We conclude that, under these
    circumstances, substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that Castro failed
    to show that he has an objectively reasonable fear of future persecution. Because Castro
    failed to establish eligibility for asylum, he necessarily failed to meet the more stringent
    showing required to qualify for withholding of removal. Mudric v. Att’y Gen., 
    469 F.3d 94
    , 102 n.8 (3d Cir. 2006). In addition, the BIA properly denied Castro’s CAT claim
    because the record evidence does not compel the conclusion that he is “more likely than
    not” to be tortured if returned to Belize. Tarrawally v. Ashcroft, 
    338 F.3d 180
    , 187 (3d
    Cir. 2003).
    6
    Finally, the Board did not abuse its discretion in denying Castro’s motion to
    reopen. In that motion, Castro explained that he had filed a post-conviction petition in
    state court challenging his child endangerment conviction. If that petition were granted,
    Castro asserted, he would no longer be removable under § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) or
    § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i). We have held, however, that the pendency of post-conviction
    petitions or other forms of collateral attack does not negate the finality of a conviction for
    immigration purposes. Paredes v. Att’y Gen., 
    528 F.3d 196
    , 198-99 (3d Cir. 2008).
    For the above reasons, we grant the motions for summary disposition and will
    deny the petitions for review. Castro’s motion for appointment of counsel, as well as his
    motions for a stay of removal, are denied.1
    1
    The temporary administrative stays of removal issued by the Clerk on January 9, 2019,
    and July 22, 2019, are vacated.
    7