Aburuwaida v. U.S. Attorney General

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
No. 11-11068 ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
NOVEMBER 3, 2011
Non-Argument Calendar
JOHN LEY
________________________ CLERK
Agency No. A88-800-604
WASEEM M A ABURUWAIDA,
Petitioner,
versus
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent.
________________________
Petition for Review of a Decision of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
_________________________
(November 3, 2011)
Before CARNES, WILSON and BLACK, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Waseem M. A. Aburuwaida, a native of Saudi Arabia and a stateless
Palestinian, seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeal’s decision affirming
the Immigration Judge’s order denying his application for asylum and withholding
of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and relief under the United
Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading
Treatment or Punishment.
Aburuwaida applied for asylum and withholding of removal based on race,
nationality, political opinion, and membership in a particular social group. The IJ
found at his removal hearing that Aburuwaida had testified credibly about Israeli
soldiers’ mistreatment of him when he lived in the West Bank while attending
medical school. In the summer of 2003 soldiers awakened him at about 3:00 a.m.,
questioned him, and searched his house. They hit him on the head and/or in the
face with a helmet. The soldiers used him as a human shield when they searched
other homes in the neighborhood and threatened to blow up a door with
Aburuwaida in front of it, if the neighbor did not answer. Aburuwaida suffered
bruises and mental anguish as a result of that incident, but he did not report it
because he believed no action would be taken.
Aburuwaida also testified that at checkpoints he had to wait in long lines,
was spit at, was sometimes hit, and was subjected to embarrassing searches.
Sometimes he was hit in the face, chest, and legs, and as a result of those incidents
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he suffered bruises, but he did not seek medical attention. The IJ found that these
events did not rise to the level of persecution, and the BIA agreed.
Aburuwaida contends that the Israeli military persecuted him when he lived
in the West Bank. He asserts that Gaza is the only Israeli occupied territory to
which he can return and that because the Gaza community is small, he will be
recognized based on his past involvement with Fatah and will be persecuted by
members of Hamas. He concedes that he cannot show that Hamas persecuted him
in the past in Gaza. Aburuwaida did not designate a country of removal, and he
contends that the BIA erred by finding that he had failed to show that he would be
unable to live in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, or the West Bank.1 He argues that under 8
U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2) the government bears the burden of showing that a particular
nation will accept an alien.2
When the BIA issues a decision, we review only that decision, except to the
extent that the BIA expressly adopts the IJ’s opinion. Al Najjar v. Ashcroft, 257
F.3d 1262, 1284 (11th Cir. 2001). Where, as here, the BIA issued its own opinion,
1
After Aburuwaida graduated from medical school in Jerusalem in 2004, he moved to Jordan
and lived there for two years while getting additional medical training. He does not allege
persecution in Jordan or in Saudi Arabia, where he was born, but asserts that he would not be
permitted to return to either of those countries.
2
Aburuwaida does not challenge the BIA’s and IJ’s denial of CAT relief, so that claim is
abandoned. Sepulveda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 401 F.3d 1226, 1228 n.2 (11th Cir. 2005).
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but “explicitly agreed with several findings of the immigration judge, we review
the decisions of both the Board and the immigration judge as to those issues.”
Ayala v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 605 F.3d 941, 948 (11th Cir. 2010). Under the highly
deferential substantial evidence test, we consider only whether substantial
evidence supports the IJ’s and BIA’s findings and “not whether there is substantial
evidence for some other finding that could have been, but was not, made.”
Adefemi v. Ashcroft, 386 F.3d 1022, 1029 (11th Cir. 2004) (quotation marks
omitted). Even if the evidence could support multiple conclusions, we must affirm
the BIA’s decision unless there is no reasonable basis for it. Id. We will not
overturn the IJ’s and BIA’s findings of fact unless the record compels it. See
Forgue v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 401 F.3d 1282, 1287 (11th Cir. 2005).
An asylum applicant qualifies as a refugee if he has suffered past
persecution, or has a well-founded fear of future persecution, in his country of
origin. Kazemzadeh v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 577 F.3d 1341, 1351 (11th Cir. 2009).
The applicant bears the burden of proving that he is a refugee. Id. To establish
asylum based on past persecution, he must show that he was persecuted on
account of a protected ground. Id. Even if he cannot show past persecution, an
applicant may establish a well-founded fear of persecution by showing that there is
a reasonable possibility that he will be persecuted if he is returned to his country
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of origin. Id. at 1352. In addition to demonstrating that there is a reasonable
probability of a future threat to his life or freedom based on a protected ground,
the alien also must show that he could not reasonably relocate to a different region
of the country or, if stateless, another part of his country of last habitual residence,
to avoid the threat. See Ruiz v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 440 F.3d 1247, 1258–59 (11th
Cir. 2006).
We have recognized that “persecution is an extreme concept, requiring more
than a few isolated incidents of verbal harassment or intimidation, and that mere
harassment does not amount to persecution.” Sepulveda, 401 F.3d at 1231(quotations marks omitted). “Minor physical abuse and brief detentions do not
amount to persecution.” Kazemzadeh, 577 F.3d at 1353; see also Djonda v. U.S.
Att’y Gen., 514 F.3d 1168, 1171, 1174 (11th Cir. 2008) (holding that evidence
that an alien had been detained for 36 hours, beaten by police officers, and
suffered only scratches and bruises, did not compel a finding that the alien had
been persecuted). “[E]ven a stateless person must show persecution to be granted
asylum.” Fedosseeva v. Gonzales, 492 F.3d 840, 845 (7th Cir. 2007).
Aburuwaida’s evidence that he endured only brief detentions and minor
injuries while in Israel was not enough to establish that he suffered past
persecution. As for the evidence he offered to show fear of future persecution,
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Aburuwaida’s participation in Fatah last occurred about eight years ago, from
2001 to 2003 while he was in medical school in Jerusalem. Although he made
general assertions about evidence of violence by members of Hamas against
members of Fatah, he was never physically harmed by members of Hamas, and he
failed to show that he was likely to be singled out by Hamas for persecution in the
future. See Sepulveda, 401 F.3d at 1231; see also Cruz-Diaz v. I.N.S., 86 F.3d
330, 332 (4th Cir. 1996) (observing that evidence of general violence in a country
is not enough to show a well-founded fear of future persecution). Furthermore,
Aburuwaida may be removed to a country regardless of whether it has accepted
him. See Jama v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 543 U.S. 335, 342, 125
S.Ct. 694, 700 (2005) (“Nonacceptance may surely be one of the factors
considered in determining whether removal to a given country is impracticable or
inadvisable, but the statute does not give it the dispositive effect petitioner
wishes.”).
Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s and BIA’s findings that Aburuwaida
failed to establish that he either suffered past persecution or has a well-founded
fear of future persecution. As a result, we affirm the BIA’s decision that
Aburuwaida was ineligible for asylum. Because Aburuwaida did not qualify for
asylum, he necessarily failed to satisfy the more stringent standard of proof for
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withholding of removal. See Yu v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 568 F.3d 1328, 1334 (11th
Cir. 2009).
PETITION DENIED.
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