FILED U.S. COURT OF AP P EALS E LEVEN T HC IRC U IT MAR 22, 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- 13498 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ A ge nc y N o. A 97- 191- 322 R I C A R D O D E J E S U S D E C A S T R O , 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

_________________________ ( M ar c h 22, 2007) B efo re A N D E R S O N , B IR C H an d K R A V IT C H , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M: R i c a r do D e J e s us D e C a s tr o pe t i t i ons thi s c our tf orr e vi e w of

the de c i s i on byDe Castro does not raise any arguments in his brief re g ardingthe IJ ’s denial of CAT relief

. 1 Thus, he has a

bandoned this i ssue on appe al. See Sepulveda v. U.S. Att’y

Gen., 401 F .3d 1226, 1228 n.2 (11th Cir. 2005). In 2002, President Bush signe d into law the Homeland Security Act, which created a new 2 Depa rtment of Homela

nd Security

and abolished theI

NS, transferringits responsibilities to the new depa rtment. Se e Hom eland S e curity Ac t of 20 02 , Pu b. L . N o. 10 7- 29 6, 11 6 Stat. 2 13 5. B e c a us e th i s c a s ei n i ti at e d

b e f o reth etran s f

er , th i s o p in i o nre f

er s t o th eIN S inth eint ere s to f c l ari ty. 2 th e B o ar d o f I m m ig ra ti o n A p p ea ls (“B IA ”) af firm in g th e I m m ig ra ti o n Ju d g e’s (“ IJ ’ s” ) orderof re m ov al and d eni al of as yl um , w i thh ol di ng of re m ov al , and rel i ef unde rthe U ni t e d N a t i ons C onve nt i on A ga i ns tT or tur e ( “ C A T ” ) . F orthe r e a s ons 1 th a tf o l l o w , w e a f

f i rm. I . B AC KG RO UN D D e C a s tr o , an a tiv e a n d c itiz e n o f C o lo m b ia , e n te r e d th e U n ite d S ta te s in J une of 2002 on anon- i m m i gr a ntvi s a , a nd he r e m a i ne d be y ond the e xpi r a t i on peri od . T he IN S i ss ued a N ot i ce t o A pp ea r, char gi ng hi m w i th rem ov abi l i ty und er 2 I N A § 2 3 7 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( B) a n d 8 U . S. C. § 1 2 2 7 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( B) . D e Ca s tr o ap p l i e d f o ra s y l u m, w i thh ol di ng of re m ov al , and rel i ef un der the C A T , al l egi ng thathe had suffer ed pers ec ut i on fr om the R evol ut i on ary A rm ed F orce s of C ol om bi a ( “ F A R C ”) base d o n h i s p o l i t i cal act i v i t i es. A t ah e a r in g b e f

o r e a n I J , D e C a s tr o a d m itte d th e a lle g a tio n s in th e N o tic e to A ppe a ra nd c onc e de d r e m ovabi l i ty , buta r gue d tha the ha d be e n pe r s e c ut e d by the F A R C . I n h is h e a r in g te s tim o n y , w h ic h w a s c o n s is te n t w ith th e f a c ts p r e s e n te d in3

h is a s y lu m ap p lic a tio n , D e C a s tr o s ta te d th a t h e w a s am e m b e ro f th e C o lo m b ia L i bera l P arty and thathe had con du ct ed com pu t erand carpentrycourse s f or an o r g a n iz a tio n c a lle d th e C o m m u n ity A c tio n B o a r d in th e V ia h a m o rn e ig h b o rh o o d . H e s ta te d th a t d u r in g aJ u n e 2 0 0 0 p r o te s t r a lly , s e v e r a l m e n s h o u te d in s u lts a t h im and t ol d h i m t o st op hi s pol i t i ca l ac t i vi t i es for the L i bera l P arty. H e l ea rned se vera l da y s l a t e rtha tthe m e n w e r e m e m be r s of the F A R C . A c c or di ng t o D e C a s tr o, be tw e e n J une 10, 2000 a nd A pr i l 5, 2002, he r e c e i ve d appr oxi m a t e l y 200 phone c a l l s f r om F A R C m e m be r s thr e a t e ni ng t o ki l l hi m i f he di d note nd hi s pol i t i c a l a nd te a c h in g a c tiv itie s . H e c la im e d th a t d u r in g th e la s t p h o n e c a ll, h e w a s to ld th a t h is n am e h ad b een p l aced o n a l i sto f p eo p l e t o b e k i l l ed b y th e F A R C . D e C astro al so t es t i fi ed thathi s m other had suffe re d a nervou s bre akdo w n aft ershe t oo had r e c e iv e d p h o n e c a lls f

r o m F A R C m e m b e r s th r e a te n in g to k ill D e C a s tr o . B e c aus e of

the thr e a t s , D e C a s tr o s t a t e d tha the a tt e m pt e d t o hi de f r om the F A R C by m ov i ng fr om B og ot a t o M edel l i n. W hi l e i n M edel l i n, ho w ever , he w as ap p r o a c h e d b y tw o F A R C m e m b e r s w h o u r g e d h im to jo in th e o r g a n iz a tio n a n d to re crui tothers t o j oi n. D e C as tro st at ed thaton e of the m en struck hi m on the kn ee w i th agun a nd thr e a t e ne d t o ki l l hi m . T he m e n t ol d D e C a s tr o tha tthe y e xpe c t e d a “p o s itiv e r e s p o n s e ” to th e ire n tr e a ty w ith in o n e w e e k . D e C a s tr o th e n r e tu rn e d to B og ot a i n ano ther a tt em ptt o avo i d the F A R C . S t i l l fe ar i ng for hi s s af ety, ho w ever , he fl ed t o the U ni t ed S t at es , w hi l e hi s m other a nd se vera l of hi s s i bl i ng s r em ai ned4

i n C ol om bi a. D e C as tro t es t i fi ed thatapprox i m at el y s i x m on ths af t erhe l ef t C o lo m b ia , F A R C m e m b e r s m u r d e r e d h is c o u s in w h o h a d a s s is te d h im in organi zi ng cl as se s f

or the L i bera l P arty. H e a l so st at ed thathi s m other had c o n tin u e d to r e c e iv e th r e a te n in g p h o n e c a lls th r o u g h th e e n d o f 2 0 0 2 . T he I J de ni e d a l l r e l i e f

, f i ndi ng tha tD e C a s tr o’ s t e s t i m ony w a s c r e di bl e , but thatthe event s di d n otri se t o the l evel of pastpers ec ut i on gi ven thatD e C as tro w as never physi ca l l y harm ed by the F A R C . T he IJal so hel d thatthere w as no evi dence of aw e l l - f ounde d f e a rof f utur e pe r s e c ut i on. T he I J c onc l ude d tha ta l though D e C a s tr o m a y ha ve as ubj e c t i ve f e a rof be i ng phy s i c a l l y ha rm e d by the F A R C , the f a i l ur e of the F A R C t o m a ke a ny a tt e m pton hi s l i f e , de s pi t e ha vi ng num e r ous o p p o r tu n itie s to d o s o o v e rap e r io d o f tw o a n d o n e - h a lf

y e a r s , in d ic a te s th a t h is f e a rw a s n o to b

j e c t i v e . Th e I J a l s o f

o u n d th a tD e Ca s tr o ’ s b e l i e f th a tth e FA RC m u r d e r e d h is c o u s in w a s n o t s u p p o r te d b y in d e p e n d e n t e v id e n c e . D e C as tro appeal ed t o the B IA , w hi ch adop t ed and affi rm ed the IJ ’ s deni al o f r e l i e f . He n o w p e t i t i o n s th i s c o u r tf o rr e v i e w. I I . DI S CUS S I ON I n hi s pe t i t i on f

orr e vi e w , D e C a s tr o c ha l l e nge s the I J ’ s de ni a l of r e l i e f on the gr ounds tha tthe I J f a i l e d t o gi ve a de qua t e w e i ghtt o hi s e nc ount e r s w i th the F A R C . H e a rgues thathi s di re ctencoun t er s w i th the F A R C (i ncl ud i ng on e w here he w a s s truc k on the kne e w i th agun) a nd the num e r ous thr e a t e ni ng phone c a l l s he5

an d h i s m o th er received fro m th e F A R C est ab l i sh ed th ath e su ffered p ast pers ec ut i on thatw as re as on abl y r el at ed t o h i s pol i t i ca l op i ni on . H e a l so ar gu es that the F A R C ’ s c ont i nue d a w a r e ne s s of hi s pol i t i c a l a nd s oc i a l a c t i vi t i e s , i t s pl a c e m e nt of hi s nam e on i t s l i stof pers on s t o b e ki l l ed, the nu m er ou s threa t s, and the m urder of hi s c ous i n a l s o e s t abl i s he d tha the ha d aw e l l - f ounde d f e a rof f utur e pe r s e c ut i on o n a c c o u n t o f

h is p o litic a l o p in io n . W he r e the B I A a dopt s the I J ’ s de c i s i on, thi s c our tr e vi e w s the I J ’ s de c i s i on a s a d o p te d b y th e B I A . S ilv av . U .S . A tt’y G e n ., 4 4 8 F .3 d 1 2 2 9 , 1 2 3 5 - 3 6 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 6 ) . T o th e e x te n t th a t th e d e c is io n w a s b a s e d o n ale g a l d e te rm in a tio n , th is c our tr e vi e w s the de c i s i on de novo. R ui z v. U . S . A tt ’ y G e n. , 440 F . 3d 1247, 1254 ( 11th C i r . 2006) . T he I J ’ s f a c tua l de t e rm i na t i ons a r e r e vi e w e d unde rthe s u b s ta n tia l e v id e n c e te s t, an d th is c o u r t “m u s t a f f irm th e [ I J ’s ] d e c is io n if it is supp ort ed by re as on abl e, subst ant i al , and p robat i ve evi dence on the re cord consi dere d as aw ho l e. ” A l N ajj arv. A shcr oft , 25 7 F . 3d 12 62 , 12 83 -84 (11 th C i r. 2001) ( c i t a t i on a nd i nt e rna l quot a t i on m a rks om i tt e d) . A ddi t i ona l l y , “ [ u] nde rthe su b st an t i al ev i d en ce t est , [th i s co u rtrev i ew s] th e reco rd ev i d en ce i n th e l i g h tm o st f a vor abl e t o the a ge nc y ’ s de c i s i on a nd dr a w a l l r e a s onabl e i nf e r e nc e s i n f

a vorof tha tde c i s i on. ” R ui z , 440 F . 3d a t1255 ( c i t i ng A de f e m i v. A s hc r of

t , 386 F . 3d 1022, 1 0 2 7 (1 1 th C ir. 2 0 0 4 ) ( en b an c) , cer t. d en ied , 5 4 4 U .S . 1 0 3 5 (2 0 0 5 )) . T h u s, “a fi nd i ng of fa ctw i l l be re vers ed on l y w hen the re cord com pel s are vers al ; the m er e6

factth atth e reco rd m ay su p p o rta co n trary co n cl u si o n i s n o ten o u g h t o j u st i fy a re vers al of the adm i ni stra t i ve fi nd i ng s. ” I d. (c i t at i on om i tt ed). A . A s yl um T he A tt orne y G e ne r a l ha s di s c r e t i on t o gr a nta s y l um i f a n a l i e n m e e t s the I N A ’ s de f

i ni t i on of a“ r e f uge e . ” I N A § 208( b) ( 1) , 8 U . S . C . § 1158( b) ( 1) . T he IN A d efi n es a refu g ee as a n y p e r s o n w h o is o u ts id e a n y c o u n try o f s u c h p e r s o n ’s n a tio n a lity . . . a nd w ho i s unabl e orunw i l l i ng t o r e turn t o, a nd i s unabl e orunw i l l i ng t o a va i l hi m s e l f

orhe r s e l f

of the pr ot e c t i on of

, tha tc ountry be c aus e of p e r s e c u tio n o raw e ll- f

o u n d e d f e aro f p e r s e c u tio n o n a c c o u n t o f . . . m e m be r s hi p i n apa r t i c ul a rs oc i a l gr oup, orpol i t i c a l opi ni on. 8 U . S . C . § 1101( a ) ( 42) ( A ) & ( B ) . T he a s y l um appl i c a ntbe a r s the bur de n of pr ovi ng r e f

uge e s t a tus . A l N a

jj a r , 257 F . 3d a t1284. T o m e e tthi s bur de n, the appl i c a ntm us te s t abl i s h, w i th s pe c i f i c a nd c r e di bl e e vi de nc e , ( 1) pa s tpe r s e c ut i on o n a c c o u n t o f

as ta tu to r ily - lis te d f

a c to r , or( 2) a“ w e l l - f

ounde d f e a r ” tha tthe s t a tu t o r i l y - l i s t e d f

a c t o rwi l l c au s e f

u tu r e p e r s e c u t i o n . 8 C . F . R . § 2 0 8 . 1 3 ( a ) , ( b ) ; Al N a jj a r , 257 F . 3d a t1287. “ [ O ] nl y i n ar a r e c a s e doe s the r e c or d c om pe l the co n cl u si o n th atan ap p l i can tfo r asyl u m h as su ffered p astp ersecu t i o n o r h as a w e l l - f ounde d f e a rof f utur e pe r s e c ut i on. ” S i l va , 448 F . 3d a t1239. If the as yl um appl i ca ntes t abl i shes pastpers ec ut i on , he i s pre sum ed t o h ave a7

w e l l - f ounde d f e a rof f utur e pe r s e c ut i on unl e s s the gove rnm e ntc a n r e butthe pr e s um pt i on. D - M uhum e d v. U . S . A tt ’ y G e n. , 388 F . 3d 814, 818 ( 11th C i r . 2004) ( c i t i ng 8 C . F . R . § 208. 13( b) ( 1) ( i ) , ( i i ) ) . I f he c a nnots how pa s tpe r s e c ut i on, the n he m u s t d e m o n s tr a te aw e ll- f o u n d e d f e a ro f f u tu r e p e r s e c u tio n th a t is b o th s ubj e c t i ve l y ge nui ne a nd obj e c t i ve l y r e a s onabl e . R ui z , 440 F . 3d a t1257. T he s ubj e c t i ve c om pone ntc an be e s t abl i s he d “ by the appl i c a nt ’ s c r e di bl e t e s t i m ony tha the ors he ge nui ne l y f e a r s pe r s e c ut i on, ” w hi l e the obj e c t i ve c om pone nt“ c a n be f ul f i l l e d e i the rby e s t abl i s hi ng pa s tpe r s e c ut i on ortha the ors he ha s agood r e a s on to f e a rf u tu r e p e r s e c u tio n .” I d . H er e, w e c on cl ud e thatthe IJ ’ s dec i si on i s s up po rt ed by subst ant i al evi dence a s D e C a s tr o f

a i l e d t o e s t abl i s h tha the s uf f e r e d pa s tpe r s e c ut i on ortha the ha d a w e ll- f o u n d e d f e a ro f f u tu r e p e r s e c u tio n . A s thi s c our tha s e xpl a i ne d, “ pe r s e c ut i on i s a n e xtr e m e c onc e pt , r e qui r i ng m o r e th a n af

e w is o la te d in c id e n ts o f v e rb a l h a r a s s m e n t o rin tim id a tio n , a n d . . . m e r e ha r a s s m e ntdoe s nota m ountt o pe r s e c ut i on. ” S e pul ve dav. U . S . A tt ’ y G e n, 401 F . 3d 1226, 1231 ( 11th C i r . 2005) ( c i t a t i on a nd i nt e rna l quot a t i on m a rks om i tt e d) . H e r e , a s e vi de nc e of pa s tpe r s e c ut i on, D e C a s tr o poi nt s t o thr e a t e ni ng phone c a l l s , y e l l e d i ns ul t s , a nd one phy s i c a l c onf r ont a t i on w i th the F A R C w he r e he w as stru cko n th e k n ee w i th a g u n . U n d er th i s co u rt ’ s case l aw , h o w ev er, th ese i nc i de nt s , vi e w e d i ndi vi dua l l y ort oge the r , do not c ons t i tut e pa s tpe r s e c ut i on.8

W e a l s o c onc l ude tha tD e C a s tr o ha s nots how n aw e l l - f ounde d f e a rof f u tu r e p e r s e c u tio n th a t is b o th s u b je c tiv e ly g e n u in e a n d o b je c tiv e ly r e a s o n ab le . S e e R ui z , 440 F . 3d a t1257; A l N a jj a r , 257 F . 3d a t1289. E ve n a s s um i ng, w i thout de c i di ng, tha tD e C a s tr o s a t i s f i e d the s ubj e c t i ve r e qui r e m e nt , i n ourvi e w , he ca nn otshow thathi s f

ea r w as obj ec t i vel y r ea sonabl e gi ven that : the F A R C never a c te d o n a n y o f

its th r e a ts to k ill h im , h e h a d o n ly as in g le p h y s ic a l e n c o u n te rw ith the F A R C , the r e w a s no i nde pe nde nte vi de nc e tha tthe F A R C w a s r e s pons i bl e f or h is c o u s in ’s d e a th , a n d m e m b e r s o f h is im m e d ia te f

a m ily h a v e r e m a in e d in C o lo m b iaw ith o u t in c id e n t. A c c o r d in g ly , w e c o n c lu d e th a t D e C a s tr o f a ile d to e s t abl i s h aw e l l - f

ounde d f e a rof f utur e pe r s e c ut i on. B . W i t h h ol d i n g R e m oval B ec ause D e C as tro ca nn otes t abl i sh el i gi bi l i ty f or as yl um re l i ef

, he there fore c a nnotm e e tthe m or e s tr i nge ntbur de n f orw i thhol di ng r e m ova l . S e e Z he ng v. U .S . A tt’yG e n ., 4 5 1 F .3 d 1 2 8 7 , 1 2 9 2 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 6 ) . I I I . CONCL US I ON W e c onc l ude tha tthe B I A ’ s a nd I J ’ s de ni a l of a s y l um and w i thhol di ng of r e m o v a l a r e s u p p o r t e d b y s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e . Ac c o r d i n g l y , we DE NY D e C a s tr o’ s pe t i t i on.