FILED U.S. COURT OF AP P EALS E LEV EN T HC IRC U IT OCTOB ER 3, 2007 THOMAS K. KAH

N CLERK [ DO NO T P UB L I S H] I N THE UN I TE D STATE S C OU RT OF APPE ALS F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C IR C U IT

________________________ N o. 06- 16633 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ B I A N o. A 95- 895- 628 F E L I P E R A M I R E Z R O D R I G U E Z , P e titio n e r , v ersu s U .S . A T T O RN E Y G E N E R A L , R e s p o n d e n t.

________________________ P e t i t i on f orR e vi e w of

aD e c i s i on of

the B o a r d o f I m m ig r a tio n A p p e a ls

_________________________ ( O c t ob e r 3, 2007) B efo re A N D E R S O N , D U B IN A an d C A RN E S , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M:On appe al, Rodriguez attempts to argue that the B IA’s underlying denial of re lief wa s 1 erroneous. However, w e lac k jurisdiction to review the B IA’s August 23, 2006, denial of re lief, beca use Rodriguez’s instant petition for review —filed on De cember 26, 2006—wa s untimely as to that order. See8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1)and (b) (1) ( stating that a petitioner ha s 30 days from the date of the final order of removal to file his petition for review of that order) ; see also Dakanev. U. S. Att’ y

Gen. , 3 71 F .3 d 7 71 , 7 73 n. 3 ( 11 th C ir . 2 00 4) (h oldingthat §1 25 2’ s 3 0- da y de a dlineis “ mandator

y and jurisdic tio nal”and

“ is n ot suspende d o r toll e d b y”thefi lingof a motion to reopen). Rodrigue z also applied for a sylum under the I NA. TheImmigration Judg e and theBIA, 2 however, conc luded that Rodriguez’s asylum application was untimely and, therefore, pretermitted. On appe al, Rodriguez conce des that his asylum application was untimely . Mo re ov er, Rod

ri gue z did

no t su bmit any e videnc ec on c erninghisuntim e lin e ss alongwith his motion to reopen. Ac cording ly , we limit our review to Rodrigue z’s requests for withholding of removal and CAT re lief. The g overnment argues on appe al that Rodriguez did not apply for CAT relief be fore 3 the IJor B IA and, therefore, has not e xhausted his administrative remedies. The record demon strate s, ho wever, that th eIJ interp rete d Ro drigue z’sa pp lic atio n a s o nere qu e stinga sylum , withholding of removal, and CAT relief. 2 F e l i pe R a m i r e z R odr i gue z , ana t i ve a nd c i t i z e n of C ol om bi a , appe a l s the B oard of Im m i grat i on A pp ea l s’ s ( B IA ) deni al of hi s m ot i on t o reopen h i s r em ov al proceedi ng s t o con si der new evi dence. 1 R odr i gue z appl i e d f

orw i thhol di ng of

r e m ova l unde rthe I m m i gr a t i on a nd N at i o n al i ty A ct(IN A ) an d fo r rel i ef u n d er th e U n i t ed N at i o n s C o n v en t i o n A g ai n st T orture a nd O ther C ruel , Inhu m an, or D egra di ng T re atm entor P un i shm ent(C A T ). 2 R odr i gue z a l l e ge d i n hi s appl i c a t i on tha the ha d be e n orw oul d be pe r s e c ut e d on a c c o u n t o f

h is m e m b e r s h ip in ap a r tic u la rs o c ia l g r o u p a n d o n a c c o u n t o f h is p o litic a l o p in io n . S p e c if ic a lly , R o d r ig u e z a lle g e d th e f o llo w in g . H e b e lo n g e d to 3 C ol om bi a ’ s “ e l i t e , m os tw e a l thy , bus i ne s s ow ni ng c l a s s ” a nd w a s am e m be rof theThe I NS disbanded on March 1, 2003, and its func tions were transferre d to the 4 D ep artm ento f

H o m e l an d

S e curi ty. 3 L ib e r a l P a r ty o f

C o lo m b ia . T h e R e v o lu tio n a ry A rm e d F o r c e s o f C o lo m b ia ( F A R C ) b r ie f

ly k id n ap p e d a n d tr ie d to r e c ru it h im , in a n e f f o r t to f o r c e h im to g a th e ra n d p r o v id e in f

o rm a tio n o n o th e rw e a lth y c itiz e n s . R o d r ig u e z r e f u s e d to c o o p e r a te a n d u ltim a te ly f le d to th e U n ite d S ta te s . T h e F A R C in te rp r e te d h is r e f u s a l a s p o litic a l o p p o s itio n . A s ar e s u lt, R o d r ig u e z a n d h is f a m ily r e c e iv e d d a ily th reat en i n g t el ep h o n e cal l s, an d th e F A R C att em p t ed t o k i l l R o d ri g u ez. T h ese e v e n ts o c c u rr e d b e tw e e n 1 9 9 5 a n d 1 9 9 7 . In 20 02 , R od ri gu ez subm i tt ed an appl i ca t i on for r em ov al t o the form er Im m ig ra ti o n an dN atu ra li za ti o n S er v ice ( IN S ). T h e I J d en ied R o d rig u ez ’s 4 appl i ca t i on , concl ud i ng thatR od ri gu ez had n otdem on stra t ed a l i kel i ho od of future pers ec ut i on on ac coun tof a s t atut ori l y e nu m er at ed grou nd or a l i kel i ho od of future t or tur e . I n A ugus t2006, the B I A a dopt e d a nd a f f i rm e d the I J ’ s de c i s i on de ny i ng R odr i gue z ’ s r e m ova l appl i c a t i on. T he B I A a l s o de t e rm i ne d tha tR odr i gue z ha d not de m ons tr a t e d tha tthe F A R C “ [ ha d] ac urr e nti nt e r e s ti n [ hi m ] . ” R odr i gue z di d not s e e k ju d ic ia l r e v ie w o f

th e B I A ’s d e c is io n a f

f irm in g th e I J ’s d e n ia l. R od ri gu ez i nst ea d m ov ed the B IA i n O ct ob er20 06 t o reopen h i s r em ov al proceedi ng s. R od ri gu ez ar gu ed thathi s r em ov al proceedi ng s s ho ul d b e r eopened b e c a u s e h e h a d p r o d u c e d n e w e v id e n c e a n d n e w f a c ts to s u p p o r t th e a lle g a tio n s in4

hi s app l i ca t i on . S peci fi ca l l y, he sa i d thatce rt ai n cl ose f am i l y m em bers had fl ed C ol om bi a on accountof “ the sa m e per se cut i on ” s uffe re d b y R od ri gu ez and h ad obt a i ne d a s y l um i n the U ni t e d S t a t e s on a c c ountof “ the s a m e orc om pa r abl e s e tof f a c t s ” a l l e ge d by R odr i gue z . I n c onj unc t i on w i th hi s m ot i on t o r e ope n the p r o c e e d in g s , R o d r ig u e z a ls o s u b m itte d ale tte rf r o m h is f a th e ra s s e r tin g th a t h is f a the rha d r e c e i ve d thr e a t e ni ng t e l e phone c a l l s i n J ul y a nd A ugus t2006 f r om p e o p le w h o id e n tif

ie d th e m s e lv e s a s m e m b e r s o f th e F A R C , a s k e d th e w h e r e ab o u ts o f R o d r ig u e z , a n d w a rn e d th a t R o d r ig u e z w o u ld b e k ille d f o rd e s e r tin g C o lo m b ia . T he B I A de ni e d R odr i gue z ’ s m ot i on t o r e ope n the pr oc e e di ngs . A c c or di ng to th e B I A , R o d r ig u e z w a s u n ab le to s h o w th a t th e r e lie f a f f o r d e d to h is f

a m ily m em bers (thei r gra ntof as yl um ) w as a f ac tthatw as previ ou sl y unavai l abl e or w as af a c ttha tw a s m a t e r i a l t o hi s appl i c a t i on f orr e l i e f . M or e ove r , R odr i gue z ha d not show n thathi s f

ather’ s l ett erw ou l d h ave a l t er ed the ou t com e of the re m ov al p r o c e e d in g s . W e r e v ie w th e d e n ia l o f am o tio n to r e o p e n f

o ra n ab u s e o f

d is c r e tio n . A n in v . R e n o , 1 8 8 F .3 d 1 2 7 3 , 1 2 7 6 ( 1 1 th C ir . 1 9 9 9 ) . O u rr e v ie w is lim ite d to de t e rm i ni ng “ w he the rthe r e ha s be e n a n e xe r c i s e of a dm i ni s tr a t i ve di s c r e t i on a nd w he the rthe m a tt e rof

e xe r c i s e ha s be e n a rbi tr a ry orc apr i c i ous . ” G a r c i a - M i rv. S m ith , 7 6 6 F .2 d 1 4 7 8 , 1 4 9 0 ( 1 1 th C ir . 1 9 8 5 ) ( q u o ta tio n o m itte d ) .5

A n al i en m aym ov e the B IA t o reopen a pri or re m ov al order bas ed on new e v i d e n c e . Se e 8 C. F. R. § 1 0 0 3 . 2 ( a ) a n d ( c ) ( 1 ) ; s e e a l s o 8 U . S. C. § 1 22 9a(c )( 7)(C )( i i ); IN A § 2 40 (c )( 7)(C )( i i ). In hi s m ot i on t o reopen, the al i en “s h a ll s ta te th e n e w f

a c ts th a t w ill b e p r o v e n a t ah e a r in g to b e h e ld if th e m o tio n is grant ed and shal l be supp ort ed by af fi davi t s or other e vi dent i ary m at er i al . ” 8 C . F . R . § 1 00 3. 2(c) (1). T he B IA m aygrantthe al i en’ s m ot i on i f the prop osed new evi dence “ i s m at er i al and w as no tavai l abl e a nd coul d n othave been di s c ove r e d orpr e s e nt e d a tthe f orm e rhe a r i ng. ” I d. A n a l i e n w ho a tt e m pt s t o s how tha te vi de nc e i s m a t e r i a l “ be a r s a‘ he a vy bur de n, ’ a nd m us t‘ pr e s e nt [ ] e vi de nc e of such a nature thatthe [B IA ] i s s at i sf i ed thati f procee di ng s bef ore the [I J] w er e r e ope ne d, w i th a l l a tt e nda ntde l a y s , the ne w e vi de nc e of f e r e d w oul d l i ke l y c ha nge the r e s ul ti n the c a s e . ’ ” A l i v. U . S . A tt ’ y G e n. , 443 F . 3d 804, 813 ( 11th C i r . 2006) ( h o ld in g th a t th e B I A d id n o t e rrin p u ttin g th e b u r d e n o f p r o o f to d e m o n s tr a te g r o u n d s f

o rg r a n tin g am o tio n to r e o p e n o n th e a lie n ) . T o b e e lig ib le f

o rw ith h o ld in g o f

r e m o v a l, a n a lie n m u s t s h o w th a t it is

“ m ore l i kel y than n ot ” thathi s l i fe or fr ee do m w ou l d b e threa t ened on ac coun tof a pr ot e c t e d gr ound i f

he r e turne d t o hi s c ountry . T a n v. U . S . A tt ’ y G e n. , 446 F . 3d 1 3 6 9 , 1 3 7 5 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 6 ) ( c itin g 8 U .S .C . § 1 2 3 1 ( b ) ( 3 ) ( A ) ) . T he tw o pr ot e c t e d gr ounds i m pl i c a t e d i n R odr i gue z ’ s appl i c a t i on f or r e m ova l of

w i thhol di ng a r e ( 1) m e m be r s hi p i n apa r t i c ul a rs oc i a l gr oup a nd6

(2) pol i t i ca l op i ni on . R egar di ng the fi rs tprot ec t ed grou nd , m em bers of a part i cul ar s o c ia l g r o u p a r e lim ite d to th o s e p e r s o n s w h o “s h a r e ac o m m o n , im m u tab le c ha r a c t e r i s t i c , ” orone “ tha tthe m e m be r s of the gr oup e i the rc a nnotc ha nge , or shou l d n otbe re qu i re d t o chang e bec ause i ti s f un dam ent al t o thei r i nd i vi du al i dent i t i es or consci ence s. ” M att erof A cost a, 19 I & N D ec . 21 1, 23 3 (B IA 19 85 ), ov errul ed on other groun ds by M att erof M og harr abi , 19 I & N D ec . 43 9 (B IA 19 87 ); se e a l so C as t i l l o-A ri as v. U . S . A tt ’ y G en. , 44 6 F . 3d 11 90 , 11 96 (11th C i r. 2 0 0 6 ), ce rt. d en ied , 1 2 7 S .C t. 9 7 7 (2 0 0 7 ) ( h o ld in g th at w e w il l d ef erto th e B IA ’s d e f in itio n o f th is g r o u n d ) . R e ga r di ng the s e c ond pr ot e c t e d gr ound, the S upr e m e C our tha s he l d tha tthe a l l e ge d pe r s e c ut i on m us tbe on a c c ountof the “ vi c t i m ’ s pol i t i c a l opi ni on, notthe pe r s e c ut or ’ s . ” I . N . S . v. E l i a s - Z a c a r i a s , 502 U . S . 478, 482- 83, 112 S . C t . 812, 816, 117 L . E d. 2d 38 ( 1992) . W i th r e s pe c tt o a l l e ge d pe r s e c ut i on by gue r i l l a s ba s e d on a n a l i e n’ s pol i t i c a l opi ni on, w e ha ve he l d tha t“ [ i ] ti s note nough t o s how tha t[ the a l i e n] w a s orw i l l be pe r s e c ut e d ort or tur e d due t o he rr e f us a l t o c oope r a t e w i th the g u e r illa s .” S a n c h e z v . U .S . A tt’y G e n ., 3 9 2 F .3 d 4 3 4 , 4 3 8 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 4 ) . R ather, the al i en m ustshow thatthe F A R C pers ec ut ed the al i en w hi l e kno w i ng that the al i en’ s r ef

usal t o coo pera t e w as because of the al i en’ s pol i t i ca l bel i ef s, ra ther than m er e f

ea r, et c. S ee R i verav. U . S . A tt ’ y G en. , 48 7 F . 3d 81 5, 82 2 (11 th C i r. 20 07 ).7

T o b e e lig ib le f

o rC A T r e lie f

, th e a lie n m u s t e s tab lis h th a t it is m o r e lik e ly th a n n o tth a th e w o u l d b e t o r tu r e d i f r e tu rn e d t o h i s c o u n try . 8 C. F. R. § 2 08 . 16 (c )( 2); R ey es -S anchez v. U . S . A tt ’ y G en. , 36 9 F . 3d 12 39 , 12 42 (11th C i r. 2 0 0 4 ). T h e C A T d efi n es “ t o rtu re” as: a n y a c t b y w h ic h s e v e r e p a in o rs u f f e r in g , w h e th e rp h y s ic a l o rm e n ta l, i s i nt e nt i ona l l y i nf

l i c t e d on ape r s on f

ors uc h purpos e s a s obt a i ni ng f r o m h im o rath ir d p e r s o n in f o rm a tio n o rac o n f

e s s io n , p u n is h in g h im o rh e rf o ra n a c t h e o rs h e o rath ir d p e r s o n h a s c o m m itte d o ris suspec t ed of havi ng com m i tt ed, or i nt i m i dat i ng or coer ci ng hi m or her orathi r d pe r s on, orf

ora ny r e a s on ba s e d on di s c r i m i na t i on of a ny ki nd, w he n s uc h pa i n ors uf f e r i ng i s i nf

l i c t e d by ora tthe i ns t i ga t i on of orw i th the c ons e ntora c qui e s c e nc e of apubl i c of

f i c i a l orothe rpe r s on act i n g i n an o ffi ci al cap aci ty. 8 C . F . R . § 208. 18( a ) ( 1) . T he a l i e n ne e d nots how , how e ve r , tha tthe t or tur e w a s on a c c o u n t o f

ap r o te c te d g r o u n d . S e e id . A f te rc a r e f u lly r e v ie w in g th e r e c o r d , w e h o ld th a t th e B I A d id n o t ab u s e its d is c r e tio n in d e n y in g R o d r ig u e z ’s m o tio n to r e o p e n . S e e A n in , 1 8 8 F .3 d a t 1 2 7 6 . R o d r ig u e z f

a ile d to d e m o n s tr a te th a t a n y o f th e e v id e n c e o f

f e r e d in s u p p o r t o f

h is m o tio n w a s m a te r ia l to h is r e q u e s t f o rw ith h o ld in g o f

r e m o v a l o rf

o rC A T r e lie f

. S e e 8 C .F .R . § 1 0 0 3 .2 ( c ) ( 1 ) . S p e c if ic a lly , R o d r ig u e z d id n o t e x p la in th e s p e c if ic g ro u n d s o f h is fa m il y m em b er s’ ap p li ca ti o n s f o r r elief o r th e I J’s o r B IA ’s r e a s oni ng i n gr a nt i ng the s e appl i c a t i ons , s uc h tha tthi s e vi de nc e s he ds no l i ghton th e in stan t p ro ce ed in g s. S ee T an , 4 4 6 F .3 d at 1 3 7 5 . A lso , alth o u g h R o d rig u ez ’s f a th e r ’s le tte rs h o w e d th a t th e F A R C m a in ta in e d ath e n - c u rr e n t in te r e s t in8

R odr i gue z , i tdi d nots how tha tthe F A R C ’ s i nt e r e s tha d a ny thi ng t o do w i th a pr ot e c t e d gr ound ortha ta ny m e m be rof the C ol om bi a n gove rnm e nti ns t i ga t e d or consent ed t o the F A R C ’ s a ct i on s. S ee 8 C . F . R . § 2 08 . 18 (a )( 1); T an, 44 6 F . 3d at 1 3 7 5 . A c c o r d in g ly , b e c a u s e R o d r ig u e z f a ile d to p r o v id e a n y e v id e n c e th a t “w o u ld lik e ly c h a n g e th e r e s u lt in th e c a s e ,” th e B I A d id n o t a rb itr a r ily o rc ap r ic io u s ly d e n y th e m o tio n , b u t r a th e rh a d n o g r o u n d s o n w h ic h to g r a n t th e m o tio n . S e e A li, 4 4 3 F .3 d at 8 1 3 ; G ar cia- M ir, 7 6 6 F .2 d at 1 4 9 0 . T h er ef o re , w e d en y R o d rig u ez ’s p e titio n f o rr e v ie w . P E T I T I ON DE NI E D.