NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 19a0295n.06 Case No. 18-3961 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Jun 10, 2019 DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ABBAS AL-MURSHIDY, ) ) Petitioner, ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW ) FROM THE UNITED STATES v. ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION ) APPEALS WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, ) ) Respondent. ) OPINION ) BEFORE: GILMAN, STRANCH, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges. RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Abbas Al-Murshidy seeks review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that affirmed an Immigration Judge’s (IJ’s) denial of Al-Murshidy’s application for deferral of removal under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT). For the reasons set forth below, we DENY Al-Murshidy’s petition for review. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual background Al-Murshidy’s family fled Iraq prior to his birth because his father helped the United States during the first Gulf War against Saddam Hussein. He was born in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia and was admitted to the United States as a refugee in 1994 when he was less than a year old. Al- Murshidy became a lawful permanent resident in 1996. He has never been to Iraq, nor does he No. 18-3961, Al-Murshidy v. Barr, have any family there. Al-Murshidy fears being deported to Iraq because he is westernized due to his time in the United States, does not speak Arabic well, and might be associated with his father’s work against Saddam Hussein. B. Procedural background In 2011, Al-Murshidy was convicted on (1) three counts of assault with intent to cause great bodily harm, in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.84(1)(a); (2) one count of discharging a firearm at a dwelling or occupied structure, in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.234b; (3) one count of possession of a firearm while committing a felony, in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.227b; and (4) one count of malicious destruction of personal property, in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.377a(1)(c)(i). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated removal proceedings based on Al-Murshidy’s status as (1) an alien convicted of an aggravated felony (a “crime of violence”), under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(a)(43)(F) and 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii); (2) an alien convicted under a law involving a firearm or destructive device, under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C); and (3) an alien convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude, under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii). Al-Murshidy applied for withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and deferral of removal under the CAT. After a hearing in 2013, the IJ concluded that Al-Murshidy was not eligible for withholding of removal because he had committed a “particularly serious crime,” see 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(B)(ii), and that Al-Murshidy failed to meet his burden of proving eligibility for deferral of removal. Four years later, Al-Murshidy submitted a motion to reopen the removal proceedings based on changed country conditions in Iraq. The IJ granted his motion, concluding that Al-Murshidy was entitled to an evidentiary hearing because he established prima facie eligibility ...
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