Tanusaputra v. Attorney General

Opinions of the United
2007 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
11-26-2007
Tanusaputra v. Atty Gen USA
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 06-2864
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 06-2864
HENGKY TANUSAPUTRA,
Petitioner
v.
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES,
Respondent
__________________
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
(Agency No. A96-204-557)
__________________
Submitted under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
on September 24, 2007
Before: AMBRO, JORDAN and ROTH, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: November 26, 2007)
OPINION
ROTH, Circuit Judge:
Hengky Tanusaputra seeks review of a final order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals (BIA) affirming the decision of an Immigration Judge (IJ) ordering Tanusaputra
removed from the United States and denying his application for asylum, withholding of
removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. Tanusaputra now argues that
the IJ failed to properly apply the law when he determined that Tanusaputra had not shown
that he was more likely than not to face persecution or torture as a result of his removal.1
Finding no error, we will affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
Tanusaputra argues that he was subject to persecution in the past in Indonesia, and that
he would therefore be subject to persecution in the future if he were to return. Tanusaputra
is a native and citizen of Indonesia; he is also an ethnic Chinese and a Christian. In his
testimony, which the IJ found to be credible, he set forth several examples of alleged
persecution that he suffered because of his ethnicity and religion.
In 1987, when Tanusaputra was twelve years old, he was subjected to a vicious prank
from a fellow student that left him hospitalized for several days. Tanusaputra was twice
subject to street crime (once in 1995 and once in an unspecified earlier year), first robbed of
his wallet and then robbed of his motorcycle. Tanusaputra reported both
incidents to the police, but was unsatisfied by the result. In May of 1998 riots broke out,
1
Tanusaputra does not appeal the denial of asylum based on his failure to file for asylum
within one year of arriving in the United States.
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primarily in Jakarta, but also in Surabaya where Tanusaputra lived. While he was driving his
employer’s vehicle through the turmoil, Tanusaputra became stuck in traffic and
demonstrators broke his windshield. Efforts to report the matter to the police and obtain
some type of satisfaction were unsuccessful. There were no other incidents over the next
three years.
Tanusaputra entered the United States on or about September 3, 2001, as a non-
immigrant visitor for pleasure and was authorized to remain in the United States through
March 2, 2002. On May 24, 2003, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service
commenced removal proceedings against Tanusaputra, charging that he was removable as
an alien who, after admission as a non-immigrant, has remained in the United States for a
time longer than permitted. On September 3, 2003, Tanusaputra filed an application for
asylum and for withholding of removal based on the danger of future persecution and torture.
Following a hearing on the merits of Tanusaputra’s application, the IJ issued an oral
decision on January 10, 2005, denying his petition. Tanusaputra appealed the decision to the
BIA. In an order issued on May 1, 2006, the BIA adopted and affirmed the IJ’s decision and
dismissed Tanusaputra’s appeal. Tanusaputra filed a petition for review of his application
for withholding of removal with this Court on May 31, 2006.
We have exclusive jurisdiction to review final orders of removal pursuant to INA
Section 242(a)(1). 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1) (2005), as amended by The REAL ID Act of 2005,
§ 106, Pub. L. No. 109-131, Div. B, 119 Stat. Tanusaputra’s petition for review was timely
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filed and venue is proper because the proceedings before the IJ were concluded in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Where, as here, the Board summarily affirms and adopts the IJ’s decision, this Court
reviews the decision of the IJ. Tarrawally v. Ashcroft, 338 F.3d 180, 184 (3d Cir. 2003). Our
review of the application of legal principles to undisputed facts is de novo. Sun Wen Chen
v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 491 F.3d 100 (3d Cir. 2007).
II. DISCUSSION
A. Withholding
To qualify for withholding of removal, Tanusaputra must show that it is more likely
than not that he will suffer persecution on account of a protected ground (race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion) if he is removed.
See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A); INS v. Stevic, 467 U.S. 401, 413 (1984). One way that he may
meet this burden is by showing past persecution, which raises a rebuttable presumption of
future persecution. See 8 C.F.R. §§ 208.16(b)(1), (b)(2). We have defined persecution as
“threats to life, confinement, torture, and economic restrictions so severe that they constitute
a threat to life or freedom.” Lie v. Ashcroft, 396 F.3d 530, 536 (3d Cir. 2005) (quoting Fatin
v. INS, 12 F.3d 1233, 1240 (3d Cir. 1993)).
The IJ applied this standard correctly in finding that the acts narrated by Tanusaputra
in his testimony simply do not rise to the level of persecution. Simple robbery does not meet
the standard for persecution. See Lie, 396 F.3d at 536. A childhood prank gone wrong also
fails to rise to the level of persecution, as does damage to a car’s windshield. Accordingly,
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we find that Tanusaputra has not been subjected to past acts of persecution that would give
rise to a presumption of future persecution.
Tanusaputra does not present any other specific evidence that he faces future
persecution but argues that he faces persecution based on his membership in a disfavored
group. We have already rejected the application of the “disfavored group” category in
general and have noted in particular that there is no pattern or practice of persecution against
Chinese Christians in Indonesia. Lie, 396 F.3d at 537-38.
B. Convention Against Torture
Withholding under the Convention Against Torture requires that the applicant
“establish that it is more likely than not that he would be tortured if removed to the proposed
country of removal.” See 8 C.F.R. § 208.16(c)(2). While Tanusaputra mentions the
Convention Against Torture, he does not provide any specific evidence showing that he faces
torture if he returns to Indonesia. He cannot carry his burden by relying on general
allegations about Indonesia. See Lie, 396 F.3d at 537-38. Accordingly, we find that he has
failed to carry his burden under the Convention Against Torture.
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we will deny the petition for review.
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