Summary
This Eleventh Circuit opinion reviews a Board of Immigration Appeals decision denying an asylum seeker's claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The court holds that it lacks jurisdiction to review the agency's determination that the asylum application was untimely, as controlling precedent classifies this as a discretionary judgment call. Regarding the remaining claims, the court finds substantial evidence supports the agency's adverse credibility finding and conclusion that the petitioner failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution. Consequently, the petition for review is dismissed in part and denied in part.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Eleventh Circuit has jurisdiction to review the BIA’s determination that Rivera’s asylum application was untimely.
- Whether the BIA’s adverse credibility finding for Rivera’s withholding of removal and CAT claims is supported by substantial evidence.
- Whether Rivera exhausted his claims before the BIA, precluding review.
Holdings
- The court lacks jurisdiction to review the BIA’s determination that the asylum application was untimely, and therefore dismisses that portion of the petition.
- The BIA’s credibility finding is supported by substantial evidence; the petition for review of withholding of removal and CAT relief is denied.
Key quotations
““we review the record evidence in the light most favorable to the agency’s decision and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that decision.””
““As to credibility determinations, [t]he trier of fact must determine credibility, and this court may not substitute its judgment for that of the BIA and [IJ] with respect to credibility findings.””
Factual background
Marvin Laguna Rivera, a native of Nicaragua, participated in political activities against the Ortega government in the 1990s. He filed his asylum application eight years after arriving in the United States, and the Immigration Judge found his credibility lacking. The BIA affirmed the IJ's denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture.
Procedural history
The Immigration Judge denied Rivera's asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT claims. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed that denial. Rivera appealed to the Eleventh Circuit.