Opinion ID: 220480
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Application for Relief

Text: The Petitioners are natives and citizens of Colombia. They entered the United States in September 2001, as nonimmigrant visitors with authorization to remain for three months. On May 7, 2002, Gomez-Beleno, along with Avila-Gaviria as a derivative applicant, filed an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). In his application, Gomez-Beleno alleged that in March 2000, while working for a mining company in Colombia, he began receiving phone calls from individuals identifying themselves as members of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the FARC). [1] These individuals, he asserted, pressured him to leave his job, join the FARC, and provide the organization with information about his employer. He further asserted that, having refused these overtures, he was repeatedly threatened and harassed by individuals claiming allegiance to the FARC. Among other things, he alleged that these individuals assaulted him, made intimidating phone calls to him and his family, and sent him a written death threat, known in Colombia as a sufragio. [2] After a hearing on September 4, 2002, an Immigration Judge (IJ) denied the application for relief. The IJ found that Gomez-Beleno's testimony, while consistent internally and consistent with [his wife's testimony], was not plausible and was not believable. The IJ further found that the testimony, even if credible, did not demonstrate that [the Petitioners] have suffered persecution in a manner, which would warrant an award of asylum or other relief in this case. That was so, the IJ explained, because (1) the acts described were acts of a terrorist criminal organization, not the Colombian government; (2) the acts described were acts of extortion or recruitment and were therefore not related to Gomez-Beleno's political opinions; and (3) the Colombian government appears to be willing and, to the extent possible, able to provide protection to [Gomez-Beleno] and his family. The IJ thus denied all requested relief and ordered the Petitioners removed to Colombia. The Petitioners timely appealed the IJ's decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which, on April 9, 2004, affirmed the IJ's decision and dismissed the appeal. The BIA did not address the IJ's adverse credibility finding, but it did agree with the IJ that the FARC threatened [Gomez-Beleno] because he refused to work for them, rather than due to his actual or imputed political opinion. The BIA therefore concluded that Gomez-Beleno had failed to establish that he suffered past persecution or has a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground. Although the BIA mentioned that Gomez-Beleno had applied for CAT relief, it did not specifically address his CAT claim.