Silva-Pereira v. Lynch

Petitioner is a Salvadoran citizen and national who was a former Salvadoran professional soccer player and then government official. The IJ concluded that petitioner was ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal because there were serious reasons for believing he committed serious nonpolitical crimes in both El Salvador and Guatemala; the IJ found petitioner to be non-credible after concluding that his explanation for failing to report his violent interactions with police in his asylum application was highly implausible; the IJ pointed out that petitioner admitted to having lied to the Salvadoran court, and found that petitioner failed to produce relevant evidence corroborating his story about the attacks; and the IJ held that petitioner has not met his burden under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) because he had neither demonstrated he would likely be tortured in either El Salvador or Guatemala. The BIA thereafter dismissed petitioner's appeal and largely adopted the IJ's reasoning. The court concluded that the agency's credibility determination was valid; the Guatemalan charges provide a sufficient basis upon which to conclude that petitioner is ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal; petitioner's law of the case argument is meritless; and, in regard to the CAT claim, the BIA's order commanding petitioner's removal to Nicaragua stands. Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review. View "Silva-Pereira v. Lynch" on Justia Law