Juan Cativo v. William Barr
Juan Cativo v. William Barr
Opinion
NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS NOV 22 2019 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JUAN CATIVO, No. 16-72569
Petitioner, Agency No. A042-241-178
v. MEMORANDUM* WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted November 5, 2019** Pasadena, California
Before: SCHROEDER and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges, and ROSENTHAL,*** District Judge.
Petitioner Juan Cativo, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for
review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying him
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** The Honorable Lee H. Rosenthal, Chief United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, sitting by designation. relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under
8 U.S.C. § 1252(a).1 Reviewing the BIA’s factual findings for substantial
evidence, Bringas-Rodriguez v. Sessions, 850 F.3d 1051, 1059 (9th Cir. 2017) (en
banc), we deny the petition.
The record does not compel the conclusion that it is more likely than not that
Cativo “would face any particular threat of torture beyond that of which all citizens
of [El Salvador] are at risk” were he to be removed to that country. Dhital v.
Mukasey, 532 F.3d 1044, 1051-52 (9th Cir. 2008); see also 8 C.F.R. § 208.18(a).
Cativo has never been the victim of violence in El Salvador. He was not
physically harmed during the robbery attempt that he described in his testimony
before the Immigration Judge, and it does not appear that his family was
specifically targeted during that attempt. That fact alone distinguishes Bringas-
Rodriguez, in which the petitioner had been “horrifically abused” by family
members and a neighbor because he was gay. 850 F.3d at 1056.
1 The United States Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Nasrallah v. Barr, No. 18-1432 (Oct. 18, 2019), which presents the question “[w]hether, notwithstanding Section 1252(a)(2)(C), the courts of appeals possess jurisdiction to review factual findings underlying denials of withholding (and deferral) of removal relief.” Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, Nasrallah v. Barr, No. 18-1432 (May 14, 2019). We decide this case in accordance with current Ninth Circuit precedent, under which we have jurisdiction over Cativo’s challenge to the denial of deferral of removal under the CAT. See Pechenkov v. Holder, 705 F.3d 444, 448 (9th Cir. 2012). Because any determination by the Supreme Court that we lack jurisdiction would have no effect on the outcome of this case, we proceed under our existing caselaw.
2 To attempt to establish that it is more likely than not that he would be
tortured by, at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence of the
government or government officials in El Salvador, as required to obtain CAT
relief, Cativo offered only generalized country conditions evidence about
discrimination against the LGBT community and people with HIV/AIDS.
Although the BIA acknowledged evidence of violence against gay individuals in El
Salvador, it held that this evidence did not “establish a sufficient level of gross,
flagrant, or mass violations of human rights such that deferral of removal should be
granted.” Nothing in the record belies that determination. Cativo does not
challenge before this court the BIA’s conclusion that “there is no evidence of a
specific or deliberate intent to deprive him of [HIV] medication,” so any such
challenge is forfeited. See Martinez-Serrano v. I.N.S., 94 F.3d 1256, 1260 (9th Cir.
1996).
PETITION DENIED.
3
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished