NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION File Name: 19a0361n.06 No. 18-4189 FILED Jul 15, 2019 DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT STEPHEN SHAKKURI, Petitioner, v. ON PETITION FOR REVIEW FROM WILLIAM P. BARR, U. S. Attorney THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION General, APPEALS Respondent. BEFORE: COLE, Chief Judge; SILER and CLAY, Circuit Judges. CLAY, Circuit Judge. Petitioner Stephen Shakkuri petitions this Court to review the Board of Immigration Appeals’ November 6, 2018 order denying his application for deferral of removal under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, 8 C.F.R. § 1208.17(a), as well as his motion to remand for consideration of new evidence, 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(b)(1), (c)(4). Petitioner’s application and motion allege that, if removed to Iraq, he would likely be tortured by both the Iraqi government and the government-aligned Popular Mobilization Forces because he is a Chaldean Christian, has resided in the United States for virtually his entire life, has prior criminal convictions in the United States, and is a plaintiff in a highly publicized class action lawsuit regarding the deportation of Iraqi nationals. For the reasons set forth below, we DISMISS IN PART and DENY IN PART the petition for review. Case No. 18-4189, Shakkuri v. Barr BACKGROUND Factual Background Petitioner is a native and citizen of Iraq who first entered the United States in 1980 at the age of two. (RE 8, Administrative Record, PageID # 1695.) Since that time, Petitioner has been a lawful permanent resident. (Id.) However, between 1995 and 1997, Petitioner was convicted of a total of two counts of retail fraud, in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.356c, and one count of breaking and entering, in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.110. (Id. at PageID # 1695, 1698.) In 2001, Respondent initiated removal proceedings against Petitioner. (Id.) Respondent charged Petitioner with removability pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), as a lawful permanent resident convicted of two offenses involving moral turpitude, and pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), as a lawful permanent resident convicted of an aggravated felony offense. (Id. at PageID # 1695.) Petitioner conceded removability, and was ordered to be removed from the United States. (Id. at PageID # 1132.) Between 2001 and 2017, the government was unable to execute Petitioner’s order of removal due to Iraq’s longstanding refusal to provide necessary travel documents for the repatriation of Iraqi nationals from the United States. See generally Hamama v. Adducci, 258 F. Supp. 3d 828, 830 (E.D. Mich. 2017). However, in March 2017, Iraq began to cooperate with the government’s repatriation efforts, ostensibly as part of an agreement whereby the government removed Iraq from the list of countries set forth in Executive Order 13780, Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States. Id. Accordingly, in 2 Case No. 18-4189, Shakkuri v. Barr June 2017, Petitioner was one of over one hundred Iraqi nationals subject to active orders of removal who were arrested in Detroit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Id.1 ...
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