Samba Eric Kamara v. Attorney General United States


NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 17-3598 _____________ SAMBA ERIC KONDEH KAMARA, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _____________ On Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA-1: A060-573-150) Immigration Judge: Honorable John B. Carle ______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) July 10, 2018 ______________ Before: GREENAWAY, JR., RESTREPO, and BIBAS, Circuit Judges. (Opinion Filed: October 30, 2018) ______________ OPINION* ______________ * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. RESTREPO, Circuit Judge. Samba Eric Kondeh Kamara is removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §§ 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) and 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), as an alien who was convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude and an aggravated felony, respectively. He petitions for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) 8 C.F.R. § 208.16. We will deny the petition in part and dismiss it in part. I. As we write solely for the parties, we set forth only the facts necessary for the discussion that follows. A native and citizen of Sierra Leone, Kamara entered the United States in April 2009 as a lawful permanent resident. In April 2016, he pled guilty in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota to aiding and abetting bank fraud. As part of his plea, Kamara agreed to make restitution, and the District Court held Kamara jointly and severally liable for the amount of $18,958.24.1 In August 2016, the Department of Homeland Security issued a Notice to Appear, charging Kamara as removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) (crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years of admission) and § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) (aggravated felony).2 1 Kamara participated in a large conspiracy to commit bank fraud, but his role was limited to one attempt to deposit a counterfeit check in the amount of $468.47 on January 5, 2012 in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344 and 8 U.S.C. § 2. 2 Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(M), an aggravated felony includes an offense that involves fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim or victims exceeds $10,000. 2 In October 2016, Kamara filed an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under CAT, based on a fear that if he returns to Sierra Leone, he will be harmed or killed because of his late father’s political affiliation and government service in the 1970s and 1980s. In November 2016, the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) sustained the aggravated felony charge of removability and scheduled a merits hearing for the CAT claim. At the hearing, the IJ heard testimony from Kamara, his brother and his sister. Although he found Kamara credible, the IJ issued a written decision sustaining the charges of removability, determining that Kamara’s conviction for aiding and abetting bank fraud constituted both an aggravated felony and a crime involving moral turpitude. ...

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