NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _______________ No. 17-2668 _______________ DONOVAN ESTURADO ESTRADA-GRAJEDA, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _______________ On Petition for Review of a Decision of the United States Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA-1: A205 495 347) Immigration Judge: Irma Lopez Defillo _______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) on March 22, 2018 Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, HARDIMAN, and BIBAS, Circuit Judges (Opinion Filed: April 19, 2018) _______________ OPINION _______________ This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and, under I.O.P. 5.7, does not constitute binding precedent. BIBAS, Circuit Judge. Donovan Esturado Estrada-Grajeda, an illegal alien, seeks withholding and deferral of removal. He alleges that if he is removed to Guatemala, he will likely use heroin again and thus be kidnapped and forced into torturous drug treatment. But he did not prove that his projected future drug habit is immutable. Nor did he prove a causal nexus between his past, present, or future drug use and persecution or torture. So we will deny his petition for review. I. Estrada-Grajeda is a native and citizen of Guatemala. He and his parents entered the United States illegally in 1994 and have stayed since then. He testified that he is a heroin addict who began using heroin seven years ago. He admitted that, to fund his heroin habit, he turned to theft. In 2013, he was arrested for criminal mischief and put into removal proceedings. While those proceedings were pending, he was arrested three more times and convicted of two counts of felony theft. Estrada-Grajeda conceded that he is removable. But he claimed that he is entitled to both withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. For withholding of removal, he claimed to be a member of the proposed social group of “drug addicts in Guatemala.” AR 113. Both claims rest on his prediction that, if he is sent back to Guatemala, he will likely use drugs again and steal to support his habit. So, he predicted, he will be arrested or kidnapped and forced into an abusive, torturous drug treatment center. The Immigration Judge held an evidentiary hearing. Estrada-Grajeda testified that he had stopped using drugs while in jail for the last six months. And outside of jail, he had 2 stayed clean two or three times, for up to a month or two. He predicted that, if removed to Guatemala, “I’m not sure,” but “I [will] probably relapse, do drugs,” “probably start stealing or something” to buy drugs, and so “probably get picked up by the police.” AR 202-03. He also predicted that, if released in the United States, he would “most likely” start using heroin again, “but my goal is not to, to find a way to control it to better myself.” AR 200. He repeatedly testified that he wants to stop using drugs, “do[es]n’t plan on” using drugs if he is released, and plans to seek treatment and ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals