Court Opinion

ID: 9906823
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-05 15:00:30.891236+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:53:13.737970
License: Public Domain

20-1673-ag
     Singh Bhagtana v. Garland

 1                                        In the
 2                United States Court of Appeals
 3                               for the Second Circuit
 4
 5
 6
 7                                   AUGUST TERM 2023
 8
 9                                     No. 20-1673-ag
10
11                               BALJINDER SINGH BHAGTANA,
12                                        Petitioner,
13
14                                           v.
15
16          MERRICK B. GARLAND, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL,
17                               Respondent.
18
19
20              On Appeal from the Board of Immigration Appeals
21
22
23                               ARGUED: SEPTEMBER 7, 2023
24                               DECIDED: DECEMBER 5, 2023
25
26
27   Before: LIVINGSTON, Chief Judge, CABRANES, and KAHN, Circuit Judges.

28
 1      This case presents the question of whether the Government
 2   rebutted the presumption of future persecution in an asylum case by
 3   establishing that Petitioner could safely relocate within his home
 4   country of India.    Petitioner Singh Bhagtana claims that he was
 5   persecuted by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (“BJP”), the
 6   governing party in India, because of his support for the Shiromani
 7   Akali Dal Amritsar or “Mann” Party, and because he is Sikh. He
 8   claims that he was attacked by BJP members on three occasions, which
 9   led him to relocate to other parts of India: first Patiala, then Gurgaon.
10   Singh Bhagtana alleges that, although he was free from harm in those
11   two towns, it was because he was living in hiding.

12      Both the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals
13   found that Singh Bhagtana’s contention that he was living in hiding
14   was unpersuasive and that, therefore, the Government had
15   successfully rebutted the presumption of future persecution.               We
16   agree.   Singh Bhagtana’s activities following relocation included
17   driving a taxicab and attending the Mann party’s meetings in a Sikh
18   Temple, which cast doubt on his allegation that he was in hiding.

19      Accordingly, the petition for review is DENIED. All pending
20   motions and applications are DENIED and stays VACATED.

21

22                             THOMAS VINCENT MASSUCCI, New York, NY
23                             (Deepti Vithal, on the brief), for Petitioner.

                                         2
 1                              SPENCER SHUCARD (Brian Boynton, Keith I.
 2                              McManus, John B. Holt, on the brief), Office
 3                              of Immigration Litigation, United States
 4                              Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for
 5                              Respondent.

 6

 7   JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge:

 8      Petitioner Baljinder Singh Bhagtana (“Singh Bhagtana”), a native
 9   and citizen of India, seeks review of a May 8, 2020, decision of the
10   Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming a July 20, 2018,
11   decision of an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denying his application for
12   asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention
13   against Torture (“CAT”).

14      The BIA and the IJ both held that Singh Bhagtana had not
15   established a well-founded fear of persecution because he could avoid
16   future persecution by relocating to another part of India. The issue
17   before us, therefore, is whether the agency erred in finding that Singh
18   Bhagtana could safely relocate within India to avoid future
19   persecution or torture and that it would be reasonable for him to do
20   so. The IJ found that Singh Bhagtana had been able to relocate within
21   India twice without incident and had been free from harm in those
22   locations for many years. We agree and conclude that the agency did
23   not err. Accordingly, we deny the petition for review. All pending
24   motions and applications are denied and all stays are vacated.

                                         3
 1                             I. BACKGROUND

 2      Singh Bhagtana seeks review of the order of the BIA and the

 3   decision of the IJ denying his application for asylum, withholding of

 4   removal and relief under the CAT.

 5      Singh Bhagtana, a native and citizen of India, entered the United

 6   States on August 7, 2015, without a valid entry document or a valid

 7   immigrant visa. He was given a “credible fear interview” on August

 8   25, 2015.

 9      Singh Bhagtana claims that he was persecuted by members of the

10   Bharatiya Janata Party (“BJP”), the governing party in India, because

11   of his support for the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar (“Mann”) Party,

12   and because he is Sikh. He testified that he was attacked on three

13   occasions—on December 29, 2008, April 11, 2012, and January 30,

14   2015—by BJP members in the District of Kapurthala, in the state of

15   Punjab. He further testified that, as a result of those attacks, he

16   suffered serious injuries, including long-lasting back pain.

17      After the first attack in December 2008, Singh Bhagtana relocated

18   to Patiala, a city—also in Punjab—where he lived for several years free

19   from harm.     In 2012, he decided to permanently move back to

20   Kapurthala but was attacked again shortly after his return. In 2013, he

21   applied for a U.S. visa, which was denied. He then relocated for a few

                                        4
 1   years to Gurgaon, near New Delhi and in the district of Haryana in

 2   northern India, where he safely worked as a taxicab driver. Singh

 3   Bhagtana again decided to permanently return to Kapurthala and was

 4   attacked in January 2015. Subsequently, he left India and travelled to

 5   the United States.

 6

 7                                       II. DISCUSSION

 8                                      A. Applicable Law

 9
10      “When the BIA issues an opinion, ‘the opinion becomes the basis

11   for judicial review of the decision of which the alien is complaining.’” 1

12   And when, as here, the decision of the BIA is consistent with the

13   decision of the IJ, we may consider both decisions “for the sake of

14   completeness . . . .” 2

15      We review the agency’s factual findings under the substantial

16   evidence standard. 3 Congress has specified that “the administrative

17   findings of fact are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator

            1Yan Chen v. Gonzales, 417 F.3d 268, 271 (2d Cir. 2005) (quoting Niam v.
        Ashcroft, 354 F.3d 652, 655 (7th Cir. 2004)).

            2   Wangchuck v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 448 F.3d 524, 528 (2d Cir. 2006).

            3   See Gao v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 400 F.3d 963, 964 (2d Cir. 2005) (per curiam).

                                                 5
1   would be compelled to conclude to the contrary[.]” 4 Additionally, we

2   have been repeatedly directed to give the IJ significant deference. 5

3   Accordingly, we “must defer to the factfinder’s findings based on

4   ‘such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate

5   to support a conclusion.’” 6 Review “under the substantial evidence

6   standard is exceedingly narrow, and we will uphold the BIA’s decision

7   unless the petitioner demonstrates that the record evidence was so

8   compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find him eligible

9   for relief . . . .” 7 We review legal conclusions de novo. 8

           4   8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B).

           5Garland v. Ming Dai, 141 S. Ct. 1669, 1677 (2021) (“[S]o long as the record
       contains contrary evidence of a kind and quality that a reasonable factfinder
       could find sufficient, a reviewing court may not overturn the agency’s factual
       determination.” (internal quotations marks omitted)); see also Xiu Xia Lin v.
       Mukasey, 534 F.3d 162, 167 (2d Cir. 2008) (per curiam); see generally Xiao Ji Chen
       v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 471 F.3d 315 (2d Cir. 2006).

           6Majidi v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 77, 81 (2d Cir. 2005) (quoting Consol. Edison Co.
       v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229 (1938)).

           7 Mu Xiang Lin v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 432 F.3d 156, 159 (2d Cir. 2005) (internal
       citations, quotation marks, and alterations omitted).

           8   Gallina v. Wilkinson, 988 F.3d 137, 142 (2d Cir. 2021).

                                                 6
 1                                               B. Analysis

 2
 3       In this matter, we consider whether the agency erred in finding that

 4   Singh Bhagtana could safely and reasonably relocate within India. The

 5   agency presumed that Singh Bhagtana had suffered past persecution

 6   in his home region, which shifted the burden to the Government to

 7   rebut the presumption that Singh Bhagtana has a well-founded fear of

 8   future persecution on the same basis. 9 The Government can rebut this

 9   presumption by establishing, “by a preponderance of the evidence,”

10   that the applicant can “avoid future persecution by relocating to

11   another part of the applicant’s country of nationality . . ., and under all

12   the circumstances, it would be reasonable to expect the applicant to do

13   so.” 10         In determining whether internal relocation would be

14   reasonable, the IJ considers, among any other relevant factors, “the

15   size of the country of nationality or last habitual residence, the

               9   See 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b)(1).

               10   Id. § 1208.13(b)(1)(i)(B), (ii); see also id. § 1208.16(b)(1)(i)(B), (ii).

                                                         7
 1   geographic locus of the alleged persecution, [and] the size,

 2   numerosity, and reach of the alleged persecutor.” 11

 3      We hold that the agency’s finding that Singh Bhagtana could safely

 4   relocate within India is supported by substantial evidence, and

 5   conclude that it did not err in holding that Singh Bhagtana had

 6   therefore not established a well-founded fear of persecution. First,

 7   Singh Bhagtana testified that he lived in two cities, one inside and one

 8   outside of his home state of Punjab, for a total of five to six years

 9   without harm despite continuing to support the Mann party. This

10   Court discerns no reason why he would not be able to relocate to those

11   places again and be free from harm, particularly as there is no legal

12   restriction on internal movement within India.                  Although Singh

13   Bhagtana contends that he was not harmed when he relocated to

14   Patiala and Gurgaon because he was “living in hiding,” the BIA found

15   this claim unpersuasive. We agree. Singh Bhagtana supported the

16   Mann party, even when he was presumably in hiding: he testified that

17   he showed up for party meetings and would regularly go to the Sikh

           11   Id. § 1208.13(b)(3); see also id. § 1208.16(b)(3) (“[A]djudicators should

        consider the totality of the relevant circumstances regarding an applicant’s

        prospects for relocation, including the size of the country of nationality or last

        habitual residence, the geographic locus of the alleged persecution, the size,

        reach, or numerosity of the alleged persecutor.”).

                                              8
 1   Temple to attend those meetings. He also drove a taxi to support his

 2   family during his relocation in both cities.

 3      Second, the U.S. Department of State’s 2016 Country Report on

 4   Human Rights Practices in India, which Singh Bhagtana introduced in

 5   support of his CAT claim, notes that security forces detained and

 6   assaulted some political protestors but not that members of the Mann

 7   party or Sikhs advocating for the creation of a sovereign Sikh state,

 8   known as Khalistan, were victims of such treatment. We have also

 9   repeatedly recognized that Indian citizens such as Singh Bhagtana

10   “[are] unlikely to face persecution for [their] Sikh beliefs and [their]

11   membership in [the Mann Party]” and “any threat faced by [such

12   applicants] in India is not country-wide.” 12

13      Lastly, Singh Bhagtana’s ability to relocate within India is

14   dispositive of the claims of asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT

15   relief because safe relocation precludes a finding of an objectively

16   reasonable fear of future harm. 13

           12 Singh v. BIA, 435 F.3d 216, 219 (2d Cir. 2006); see also Singh v. Garland, 11
        F.4th 106, 118 (2d Cir. 2021).

           13  See 8 C.F.R. §§ 1208.13(b), 1208.16(b), 1208.16(c)(3); Singh, 11 F.4th at 118;
        Lecaj v. Holder, 616 F.3d 111, 119–20 (2d Cir. 2010) (holding that where the record
        does not demonstrate chance of persecution required for asylum, it “necessarily
        fails to demonstrate” the likelihood of harm for withholding of removal and
        CAT relief).

                                               9
1                           III. CONCLUSION

2     For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is DENIED. All

3   pending motions and applications are DENIED and stays VACATED.

                                   10