NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 20a0675n.06 Nos. 18-4191/19-3496 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Nov 25, 2020 WALID ABDULAHAD, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW ) FROM THE UNITED STATES WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION ) APPEALS Respondent, ) BEFORE: McKEAGUE, GRIFFIN, and BUSH, Circuit Judges. JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Walid Abdulahad, a 45-year-old native and citizen of Iraq who has lived in the United States since 1997, appeals two decisions of the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). First, he appeals the BIA’s decision to uphold the denial by the Immigration Judge (IJ) of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). That decision likewise denied Abdulahad’s motion to remand. He also appeals the BIA’s later decision to deny his motion to reopen and reconsider his case. For the reasons discussed below, we DENY Abdulahad’s petitions for review from the BIA. I. Walid Abdulahad is a native and citizen of Iraq. Abdulahad and his family fled Iraq in 1991, and he entered the United States as a refugee in December 1997. Abdulahad adjusted his Nos. 18-4191/19-3496, Abdulahad v. Barr status to that of a permanent resident in November 2000. Abdulahad is a Chaldean Christian, and he has no current ties with Iraq. In September 2003, when in Aruba, Abdulahad was accused of attempting to export cocaine. In November 2003, an Aruban court issued an in absentia judgment imposing a fine against Abdulahad. The Aruban investigation revealed that Abdulahad had tried to smuggle over 500 grams of cocaine into the United States by securing packages of the drug to his feet before attempting to board an airplane in exchange for $1,000 to $1,500. On his return from Aruba in October 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged Abdulahad with inadmissibility under § 212(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(C), based on his conduct in Aruba. He was ordered removed from the United States in absentia after failing to appear at his removal hearing. Years later, Abdulahad successfully moved to reopen his removal proceedings based on changed country conditions in Iraq. The IJ then held individual hearings on the merits of Abdulahad’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal under the CAT. On November 14, 2017, the IJ held that Abdulahad’s Aruban conviction was a particularly serious crime, rendering him ineligible for asylum or withholding of removal.1 On February 28, 2018, the IJ denied Abdulahad’s application for deferral of removal under the CAT and ordered that he be removed to Iraq. Abdulahad timely appealed to the BIA, which affirmed the IJ’s decision on November 20, 2018. Specifically, the BIA held (1) that Abdulahad’s in absentia judgment in Aruba constitutes a conviction under INA § 101(a)(48)(A); (2) that Abdulahad was ineligible for asylum and 1 The November 14, 2017 order clarified that the conviction still qualified as a ...
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