Raju Ahmed v. William P. Barr


United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ Nos. 18-3704/19-2368 ___________________________ Raju Ahmed Petitioner v. William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States Respondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: June 18, 2020 Filed: September 4, 2020 ____________ Before LOKEN and GRASZ, Circuit Judges, and CLARK,1 District Judge. ____________ CLARK, District Judge. Petitioner Raju Ahmed, a citizen of Bangladesh, entered the United States on a student visa. While in the country, he was convicted of two aggravated felonies. When the Department of Homeland Security moved to deport Ahmed based on those convictions, Ahmed sought deferral of removal under the Convention Against 1 The Honorable Stephen R. Clark, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, sitting by designation. Torture (CAT), 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c), claiming a fear of torture because he is a convert from Islam to Christianity. Finding that Ahmed had failed to show he was more likely than not to face torture if removed, the Immigration Judge denied his request for deferral and the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) affirmed. Ahmed later moved the Board to reopen his case, claiming new evidence, and the Board denied his motion to reopen. Ahmed petitioned this Court for review of the Board’s decisions. We deny the petitions for review. I. Background Ahmed is a native and citizen of Bangladesh. He entered the United States on a non-immigrant student visa in 2000. In 2005, Ahmed, pleaded guilty to two felonies in Kansas: attempted aggravated burglary and attempted aggravated sexual battery. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison and 48 months of probation. In 2006, the Department of Homeland Security issued Ahmed an administrative order of removal pursuant to section 238 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 238 provides that “[a]ny alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission is deportable.” 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). The statute defines “aggravated felony” to include a “burglary offense for which the term of imprisonment is at least one year.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G). Despite issuance of the final administrative order of removal in 2006, DHS did not enforce the order or remove Ahmed to Bangladesh, but released him subject to an Order of Supervision. For the next twelve years, Ahmed continued to reside and work in the United States. In 2015, he married his wife. Together, the couple have two daughters, who are United States citizens. In 2018, DHS moved to execute the final administrative order of removal. Before he was removed, Ahmed expressed a fear of persecution and torture if he was -2- removed to Bangladesh because of his conversion from Islam to Christianity. An Immigration Judge conducted a merits hearing on Ahmed’s application for relief from removal. Ahmed sought relief on two grounds: withholding of removal under INA section 241(b)(3), 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3), and protection from removal under the CAT. Finding Ahmed was ineligible for withholding of removal under INA section ...

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