Hernandez-De La Cruz v. Lynch

Petitioner seeks review of the denial of his applications for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Petitioner's applications were based on his claims that he was kidnapped and assaulted by members of the Zetas, a Mexican criminal syndicate, who released him only after he agreed to pay $15,000 - and that after he reported that incident to the police in defiance of the Zetas’ instructions, corrupt police officers threatened and beat him. The court concluded that it has no authority to consider petitioner’s arguments that the IJ and the BIA erroneously found that he was mistreated by people driven by economic motives - not petitioner’s political opinion as expressed through whistleblowing activity; however, petitioner's challenge to the determination that “former informants” do not constitute a “particular social group” is a legal question that the court has jurisdiction to review; in this case, petitioner's proposed particular social group is not sufficiently particular; the court lacked jurisdiction to consider petitioner’s arguments that, contrary to the factual findings below, he faces a probability of torture upon return to Mexico based on his reporting of his mistreatment and not economic reasons; likewise, the court lacked jurisdiction over his factual arguments regarding the reach and power of the Zetas in Mexico and his ability to safely relocate; and the court does have jurisdiction to the extent petitioner argues that the IJ and BIA applied the wrong legal standard in determining that he could not relocate to a part of Mexico where he is unlikely to be tortured, but that argument fails on its merits. Accordingly, the court dismissed in part and denied in part. View "Hernandez-De La Cruz v. Lynch" on Justia Law