Alhagi Samba v. Attorney General United States


NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________ No. 19-1878 ___________ ALHAGI SULAYMAN SAMBA, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ____________________________________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. A070-850-900) Immigration Judge: Honorable Kuyomars Golparvar ____________________________________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) December 28, 2020 Before: JORDAN, MATEY and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: January 11, 2021) ___________ OPINION * ___________ PER CURIAM * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. Pro se petitioner Alhagi Samba petitions for review of a final order of removal and the denial of his application for relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). For the reasons detailed below, we will deny the petition. Samba is a citizen of The Gambia. He entered the United States in 1988, and then overstayed his visa. In 2006, he was convicted in Pennsylvania state court of conspiring to deliver marijuana and violating the corrupt-organizations statute. He was then charged with being removable as an alien who had (1) remained in the United States for a longer time than permitted, see 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B); (2) been convicted of a law relating to a controlled substance, see id. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i); and (3) been convicted of an aggravated felony, see id. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). Through counsel, Samba conceded removability on the first two grounds, and the Immigration Judge (IJ) sustained the third. Samba applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief. At a hearing before an IJ, Samba testified in support of his applications. He said that he is a member of the minority Jola tribe. The former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, also a member of the Jola, was a brutal dictator. In 2016, Jammeh was defeated in an election by Adama Barrow, a member of a different tribe. Samba claims that this political transition has caused upheaval and increased discord between tribes, and he fears that he will be tortured in The Gambia as a member of a minority tribe. In a thorough opinion, the IJ denied all relief to Samba. The IJ concluded that Samba was ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal due to his aggravated felony (which qualified as a particularly serious crime). The IJ also denied Samba’s CAT 2 claim, finding that there was no evidence that he would be harmed or mistreated in The Gambia or that the government would acquiesce to any torture. Samba appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which affirmed the IJ’s conclusions and dismissed the appeal. Samba filed a petition for review to this Court. We have jurisdiction to review a final order of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1). Because Samba is removable for having been convicted of an aggravated felony, our jurisdiction is generally limited to questions of law and constitutional claims, see id. § 1252(a)(2)(D), although we retain jurisdiction to review factual challenges to the CAT ...

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