Manuel Reyes-Ortiz v. Attorney General United States


NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ______________ No. 20-2982 ______________ MANUEL ABILIO REYES-ORTIZ, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA _______________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (A203-557-226) Immigration Judge: D’Anna H. Freeman _______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) May 25, 2021 _______________ Before: GREENAWAY, JR., and SHWARTZ, Circuit Judges, and KANE, District Judge. * (Opinion Filed: July 19, 2021) _______________ OPINION ** _______________ * The Honorable Yvette Kane, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation. ** This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. KANE, District Judge. Manuel Abilio Reyes-Ortiz petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal of the decision of an Immigration Judge (“IJ,” and together with the BIA, the “agency”) denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We will dismiss in part and deny in part the petition for review. I. Background Reyes-Ortiz, a native and citizen of Honduras, unlawfully entered the United States in April 2019. The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a Notice and Order of Expedited Removal pursuant to its authority under § 235(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1). Because Reyes-Ortiz expressed a fear of returning to his native country, he was referred to an asylum officer for a credible fear interview pursuant to INA § 235(b)(1)(A)(ii), 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1)(A)(ii). His interview was conducted on May 29, 2019. During his credible fear interview, Reyes-Ortiz—a former police officer for the National Police of Honduras for over eighteen years—referenced two incidents as the sources of his fear of returning to Honduras. First, he stated that five masked men entered his house one night in September 2017, held him and his family at gunpoint, and asked where he was “hiding the person they were looking for.” A.R. 446. Reyes-Ortiz told the men that he was not hiding anyone, after which three of the men beat him for five minutes on his chest, stomach, feet, and legs. The men were wearing uniforms of “investigative police,” part of the “ATI,” which is a “department that belongs to the 2 public ministry.” A.R. 447. One of the men indicated to the others that they needed to “hurry up” because they had made a mistake and needed to move on to a different house. A.R. 447. Reyes-Ortiz informed his superior about the incident, and a patrol car was assigned to his house for a period of time. As to the second incident, Reyes-Ortiz stated that in January 2019, four masked, armed, and uniformed individuals “from DPI, investigative police, [] same as ANIC,” emerged from a white car at his residence and threatened that if he did not leave the country within 24 hours, he would be killed, but did not physically harm him. …

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