Lianto v. Attorney General of the United States
Lianto v. Attorney General of the United States
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Anton Lianto petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). For the reasons below, we will deny the petition for review.
Lianto, a citizen of Indonesia, entered the United States in April 1999. In 2003, he was charged as removable for overstaying his admission period. Lianto applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). After a hearing, the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) found Lianto removable and denied relief. Lianto appealed, and the BIA dismissed the appeal. Lianto filed this petition for review.
The IJ found that Lianto’s asylum application was untimely, and the BIA found no error in that finding. Generally, we lack jurisdiction to review a decision that an asylum application is untimely. 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(3). We have jurisdiction to review constitutional claims and questions of law, but not factual or discretionary determinations related to the timeliness of an asylum application. Sukwanputra v. Gonzales, 434 F.3d 627 (3d Cir. 2006). Lianto does not raise any constitutional claims or questions of law with respect to the timeliness of his asylum application and thus we do not have jurisdiction.
We do have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 to review the denial of Lianto’s request for withholding of removal.
Lianto argues that the BIA erred in determining that the discrimination he suffered did not amount to persecution. He asserts that, as a Christian of Chinese descent, he was harassed and discriminated against in Indonesia throughout his life. He testified that rocks were thrown at his church and that he was hit with a motorcycle helmet in 1997. This record does not compel a finding that he suffered past persecution on account of his ethnicity or religion. See Lie v. Ashcroft, 396 F.3d 530, 536 (3d Cir. 2005) (“[T]wo isolated criminal acts, perpetrated by unknown assailants, which resulted only in the theft of some personal property and a minor injury, [are] not sufficiently severe to be considered persecution.”)
For the above reasons, we will deny the petition for review.
. Lianto does not challenge the denial of relief under the CAT.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.