In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ Nos. 17-3198 & 18-1104 FRANCISCO LOPEZ GAMERO, Petitioner, v. WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General of the United States, Respondent. ____________________ Petitions for Review of Orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals. No. A090-289-114 ____________________ ARGUED MAY 16, 2018 — DECIDED JULY 3, 2019 ____________________ Before FLAUM, SYKES, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges. SYKES, Circuit Judge. Francisco Lopez Gamero, a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, faces removal because of two state drug convictions. An immigration judge found him removable as an alien convict- ed of the aggravated felony of “illicit trafficking in a con- trolled substance.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B). He sought deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, 2 Nos. 17-3198 & 18-1104 but the judge denied that relief because the evidence he presented about the risk of torture from Mexican drug cartels was largely speculative. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. Lopez Gamero later moved to reopen the removal pro- ceedings based on new evidence—most notably, evidence that his brother-in-law and nephew had been kidnapped and held for ransom in Lopez Gamero’s hometown. The Board denied the motion, ruling that the new evidence was unlikely to change the outcome. Lopez Gamero seeks review of both decisions. He raises three arguments: (1) his drug convictions do not qualify as “illicit trafficking” under § 1101(a)(43)(B) because the crimes in question do not require proof of remuneration; (2) the agency’s decision to deny his application under the Conven- tion Against Torture is not supported by substantial evi- dence; and (3) the agency applied the wrong legal standard and abused its discretion when it denied his motion to reopen. We deny the petitions for review. I. Background Lopez Gamero entered the United States in 1973 and be- came a lawful permanent resident in 1989. Over the next decade and a half, he was convicted of three crimes in Cook County Circuit Court: (1) a domestic-violence offense in 1997, see 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/12-3.2(a)(1); (2) possession of cocaine with intent to deliver in 2005, id. § 570/401(c)(2); and (3) possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, id. § 550/5(f), also in 2005. On April 6, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against Lopez Gamero. An Nos. 17-3198 & 18-1104 3 immigration judge found him removable as an alien convict- ed of illicit trafficking in a controlled substance, an aggravat- ed felony listed in § 1101(a)(43)(B). The judge also determined that Lopez Gamero is ineligible for most forms of relief from removal—specifically, asylum, cancellation of removal, and withholding of removal. That left only one potentially viable path to relief: deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. The judge held a merits hearing on that claim. Lopez Gamero testified that he fears torture at the hands of drug cartels if he is removed to Mexico. He bases this fear on a series of incidents that occurred in his hometown of General Carlos Real, Durango, ...
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