31 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Immigration"'.
[Consolidated.] J. Smith finds a lower court properly dismissed a defendant's motion to remain in the U.S. The defendant, who was arrested and convicted for possession of illegal drugs, argued that he was entitled to a deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture Act, and then a bid for reconsideration after the board of immigration appeals denied his application for CAT. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he was not entitled to relief based on lack of evidence that he would be tortured by a drug cartel and high ranking, corrupt officials in Mexico. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 22-2474, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, immigration
J. Smith denies the Mexican citizens' petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of their application for asylum and relief under the Convention Against Torture. Petitioners entered the U.S. without documentation and say that the Mexican Navy will persecute and torture them in order to stop the mother's campaign to hold the military responsible for her son's disappearance. Though the immigrants are not required to establish past persecution in order to support the possibility of future persecution, that the mother had publicly spoken out against the Navy via news media repeatedly for months without suffering harm does not support the claims of persecution.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 23-60089, Categories: evidence, immigration, International Law
[Consolidated]. J. Loken finds a lower court properly removed a Nigerian citizen back to Nigeria for defrauding insurance companies by setting up bogus car crashes in order to collect insurance payouts. The citizen of Nigeria, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud, argued that he was entitled to remain in the U.S. based on a letter submitted to the court by an attorney, even though the letter was supposed to be written by an actual law firm. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he is removable based on his breach of the plea agreement. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 22-3235, Categories: evidence, Fraud, immigration
J. Bloomekatz finds the Guatemalan immigrant is not entitled to review of the immigration board's denial of her request for asylum. Although she was threatened with rape and assault if she refused to be the wife of a gang member, the threats had nothing to do with her status as a Mayan indigenous woman, while she also failed to report the threats to police and, therefore, cannot prove the government "turned a blind eye" to her harassment. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Bloomekatz, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 23-3606, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Readler finds the immigration panel properly determined the class of "mistreated women" proposed by the El Salvadoran immigrant did not constitute a distinct social group protected under U.S. immigration law. Although they suffer from mistreatment at the hands of gangs, the group is overly broad and is not distinct from other sets of individuals in the country. However, the panel failed to provide any analysis of its decision to deny protected social group status to the immigrant's family; therefore, the case must be remanded for proper analysis of that social group and whether it entitles the immigrant to protection from removal. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Readler, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 21-3334, Categories: evidence, Government, immigration
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J. Greer finds the immigration judge properly denied the El Salvadoran citizen's application for withholding of removal and protection. The immigrant was ordered removed for not having proper documentation after entry. He is properly found not to be included in the category of individuals covered by a cited regulation because he was not initially placed in expedited removal proceedings and immigration services did not adjudicate his asylum application. The immigrant did also not establish a nexus to his family-based particular social group, though the judge should consider additional evidence on remand. Affirmed in part.
Court: Board of Immigration Appeals, Judge: Greer , Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 4074, Categories: evidence, immigration, Due Process
J. Readler denies the Mexican immigrant's petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of her asylum application, ruling "restaurant owner" is not a particular social group that can be afforded relief from deportation. Although the immigrant was harassed and threatened by gangs shortly after she opened her restaurant in Mexico, "business owners" is not a definable group and has no unifying characteristic that could render it protected under federal immigration; therefore, the board properly denied her application. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Readler, Filed On: March 4, 2024, Case #: 23-3664, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Wilson finds the district court properly convicted the Mexican citizen defendant for possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. Defendant has admitted to entering the country illegally on other occasions, as well as having been arrested for such. Most recently, defendant's pregnant wife called police, alleging he assaulted her and threatened to shoot her in the stomach, and the firearm was found in his truck. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Wilson , Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 22-30821, Categories: evidence, Firearms, immigration
Per curiam, the circuit finds the Board of Immigration Appeals improperly denied the Chinese citizen's applications for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the convention against torture. The immigrant entered the country in Los Angeles without proper documentation, later moved to Oklahoma, and further hearings took place in the Dallas immigration court. The case was never transferred back to Los Angeles before Ninth Circuit precedent was incorrectly applied in denying his applications. Fifth Circuit precedent must be applied. Vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: 22-60642, Categories: evidence, immigration, Jurisdiction
J. Thapar denies the Ghanaian immigrant's petition for review of his asylum application, ruling there is insufficient evidence to support his claim of state-sanctioned persecution based on his political beliefs. Although he was assaulted by a group of political rivals who also threatened to kill him, the threats stemmed primarily from an assault perpetrated by his friend, while he also failed to contact police about a murder involving the political rivals, which prevents him from proving the government is unwilling to protect him or prosecute the perpetrators.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: 23-3350, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Elrod denies the El Salvadoran native's petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of her application for asylum. She failed to show her government would be unable to control her persecutor. Evidence showed the Salvadoran government arrested and detained a man who had raped the petitioner, removed his first two attorneys after they were reported for offering her money to drop the case, and pursued the case even after she stopped cooperating.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Elrod , Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 22-60554, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Heyten finds the lower court improperly convicted the couple's three convictions for conspiring to obtain U.S. citizenship fraudulently for the noncitizen and making false statements in their efforts to do so. The couple met in college and married shortly after but lived on opposite sides of the country. Although the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict, the jury was allowed to consider a legally insufficient theory. The government told the jury that a form filled out by the originating citizen labeled herself as married despite the pair being separated. Because it was a separation and not a divorce, she is considered married for the form and, therefore, did not lie as the government portrayed. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 22-4128, Categories: evidence, Government, immigration
J. Lee finds that the district court properly entered a conviction against an illegal immigrant for attempted illegal entry into the United States. A border patrol agent witnessed the immigrant crawling on the ground near a border fence and later admitted he was a Mexican citizen without documentation. The immigrant argued that his Miranda warning was inadequate because the agent also warned him that the post-arrest interview may be his only chance to seek asylum. Sufficient evidence supported the immigrant’s confession. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 21-50031, Categories: evidence, immigration, Miranda
[Consolidated.] J. Benton finds a lower court properly dismissed a citizen of Guatemala and his daughter's motion to remain in the U.S. The father argued that they will face torture upon their return based on jealousy at the hands of a third party who burned his house down. However, he failed to present evidence in court that his claims are based on anything more than speculation. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: 20-2397, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Moore finds the Guatemalan immigrant is entitled to partial review of the immigration board's denial of her application for asylum. Although personal animosity alone is insufficient to prevent removal from the U.S., the mother-in-law's threats to kill the immigrant if she ever returned were also based on her status as a Chuj woman - viewed as witches and deemed property of their husbands in Guatemalan culture - and so the board must analyze whether both motives were inextricably intertwined such that it allows for the grant of asylum.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Moore, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 23-3059, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Douglas grants the El-Salvadoran immigrant's petition for panel rehearing on the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of his application for withholding of removal. The immigrant, a Christian minister who has been harassed and threatened by the violent MS-13 gang, testified that threats and attacks have also been inflicted on his family. The board incorrectly required evidence of physical harm to show persecution, as death threats constitute persecution when they are objectively credible. The asylum officer and immigration courts deemed the immigrant credible, and evidence corroborated his testimony the threats occurred. Reversed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Douglas , Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 22-60307, Categories: evidence, immigration, International Law
J. Malphrus dismisses this appeal concerning an immigration judge's denial of the Mexican citizens' applications for asylum and withholding of removal. A criminal cartel forced the citizens off their land in Mexico and they applied for asylum in the U.S. based on their membership in a particular social group consisting of their family and perceived members of their household. The Mexican citizens did not show a connection between the claimed harm and their membership in the social group, but rather the cartel is found to have been motivated by a desire to control the land, rather than by family membership.
Court: Board of Immigration Appeals, Judge: Malphrus, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 4068, Categories: evidence, immigration
Per curiam, the circuit finds the Board of Immigration Appeals properly dismissed the Chinese student's appeal of the order of removal. After having been lawfully admitted into the U.S. on a student visa, it was found the student had never attended the school for which the visa was granted. The board properly affirmed the immigration judge's denial of his application for asylum and protection on an adverse credibility determination, as there were various inconsistencies between the student's testimony and documentary evidence.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 22-60641, Categories: Education, evidence, immigration
J. Mathis finds the trial court's jury instructions during defendants' trial on conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants for commercial gain included language that properly defined the term "harbor." The revised version of the Immigration Act does not require knowing or willful acts on the part of criminal defendants. Additionally, even if the court had adopted defendants' version of the instruction, there was overwhelming evidence to establish the mens rea and find them guilty, including that the four Mexican immigrants lived in defendants' basement and were told to "not go outside or make any noise" at the risk of being deported by the government. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 22-5516, Categories: evidence, immigration, Jury Instructions
J. Higginson finds that the trial court properly found defendant guilty of transporting an alien who has entered or remains in the United States in violation of law. The Border Patrol Agent testified that defendant explained that the passenger in his truck was his wife and a U.S. citizen. When the agent asked the passenger in Spanish about her citizenship, she said that she was from Honduras and that she was not legally present in the United States. Though the passenger testified that she was in the country against her will, a rational jury could infer that she had illegally entered or remained here from testimony confirming that she was illegally present. The verdict was based on sufficient evidence. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginson , Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 21-40565, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Noferi finds the Immigration Judge improperly denied the Dominican Republic native’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal. Though the immigrant has proven that he is a member of two cognizable social groups, being gay and HIV-positive, the judge concluded that he did not establish that the harm he suffered by his father in the Dominican Republic was due to a protected ground since his father did not then know he was gay. The judge’s analysis does not address all relevant evidence regarding the father’s motive for harm, such as the declarations from the respondent, his brother, and his uncle stating that the father singled him out for abuse because he suspected he was gay. Remanded.
Court: Board of Immigration Appeals, Judge: Noferi, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 4065, Categories: Civil Rights, evidence, immigration
J. Stewart denies the petitioner’s request for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals affirming of the immigration judge’s decision that she and her two daughters are ineligible for relief. An El Salvadoran “gang expert” testified that the government of El Salvador is involved in a violent power struggle with the MS-13 gang. Though the petitioner also testified that her neighbor, a gang member, saw her when she was on her lunch break in downtown San Salvador while she was wearing her uniform, remarking “[n]ow I know that you work at the Ministry of Justice.” The board did not err in affirming the judge’s conclusion that she had failed to show a well-founded fear of future persecution in El Salvador. A cited case states: “The question of what probative value or weight to give to expert evidence is a determination for the [immigration judge] to make as the fact finder.”
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Stewart, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 22-60340, Categories: evidence, immigration, Experts
J. Davis grants the Chinese immigrant's petition for review of the Board of Immigration's decision to deny his request for asylum, ruling that although he lived for 10 years in China without persecution after being captured, beaten and interrogated for practicing his Christian faith and having a child out of wedlock, he has established a likelihood of future persecution through testimony that his family have continually warned him not to return because police are still curious about his whereabouts and activities.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Davis, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 22-3807, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Gibbons denies the Bulgarian immigration's petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision, ruling that even though he testified about being assaulted twice upon his return to Bulgaria for being Roma, he failed to include these incidents in his initial interview and I-589 form, which discredits his testimony.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Gibbons, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-3760, Categories: evidence, immigration
J. Malphrus grants the respondent’s motion to remand the record of his removal proceedings and the denial of his application for protection under the Convention Against Torture to the immigration judge. The respondent claims two men wearing police uniforms detained him in the Dominican Republic, stabbed him with a screwdriver and ordered him to repay money. He says the men shot him and that he was hospitalized, then released into the custody of the same men, who again stabbed him. Review of the claim should include a determination as to whether the men were actual police officers and, if so, whether their conduct was undertaken “in an official capacity.”
Court: Board of Immigration Appeals, Judge: Malphrus, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 4064, Categories: evidence, immigration, Due Process
J. Jackson-Akiwumi denies a request by a Mexican national to halt his removal to Mexico because he fears a gang based in Mexico City will make good on threats to kill him. The immigrant failed to meaningfully challenge the two dispositive issues in his case before the Board of Immigration Appeals or the federal appellate court — the findings of no past persecution by governmental officials under international torture protocols and his ability to relocate beyond the gang upon returning to Mexico.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: 21-2088, Categories: evidence, Government, immigration
J. Smith finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 144 months in prison for possession of unlawful firearm parts, which he exported into the U.S. The defendant argued that he is entitled to a motion to suppress evidence in connection to his arrest after Mexican authorities wrongfully dropped him off at the U.S. border. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendant is not entitled to relief for the actions of Mexican authorities based on the lack of a joint venture between Mexico and the U.S. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: July 11, 2023, Case #: 22-1918, Categories: evidence, Firearms, immigration
J. Richman finds the trial court improperly convicted defendants for possession with intent to distribute of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. Defendants, as passengers in a vehicle stopped for an unspecified offense, were questioned by DEA when the drugs were found in the car. They gave the same basic story that they were strangers but crossed the border together and flagged down a random car for a ride. They said there were no drugs in the car at first, but that the driver dropped them off at a certain point, saying he would come back. The car was loaded with drugs when he returned. The jury could not reasonably conclude based on this that either passenger was in possession with intent to distribute. Reversed and vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Richman, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 21-50642, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, immigration