PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 20-1201 ADAN DE JESUS TOMAS-RAMOS, Petitioner, v. MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of an Immigration Judge. Argued: September 22, 2021 Decided: February 2, 2022 Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and HARRIS and RUSHING, Circuit Judges. Petition for review granted; vacated and remanded by published opinion. Judge Harris wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge Gregory and Judge Rushing joined. ARGUED: Michael D. Lieberman, KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner. Patricia E. Bruckner, UNITED STATES DEPARMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. ON BRIEF: Simon Y. Sandoval-Moshenberg, Stacy M. Kim, LEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER, Falls Church, Virginia; Paul F. Brinkman, Michael A. Francus, KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner. Ethan P. Davis, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Anthony P. Nicastro, Assistant Director, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. PAMELA HARRIS, Circuit Judge: After Adan de Jesus Tomas-Ramos, a citizen and native of Guatemala, reentered the United States illegally in 2018, a removal order previously entered against him was reinstated. But because Tomas-Ramos expressed a fear of returning to Guatemala, an asylum officer conducted a screening interview to determine whether he reasonably feared persecution or torture in his home country. The asylum officer determined that Tomas- Ramos failed to establish a reasonable fear of such harm, and so was not entitled to relief from his reinstated removal order. An Immigration Judge (“IJ”) concurred with that determination. Tomas-Ramos now petitions for review of the IJ’s order on two grounds. He first contends that the IJ’s finding that he lacked a reasonable fear of persecution or torture was erroneous. We agree. The primary ground for the IJ’s decision was that there was no “nexus” between the harm Tomas-Ramos faced and a protected ground. But the agency incorrectly applied the statutory nexus requirement. Instead, the record compels the conclusion that Tomas-Ramos was persecuted on account of a protected ground, in the form of his family ties. And in light of that error, we cannot determine that the other reason given by the IJ for her decision – that Tomas-Ramos could avoid harm by relocating – was supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we grant the petition for review, vacate the agency’s decision, and remand for further proceedings. In addition, Tomas-Ramos argues that noncitizens subject to reinstated removal orders have a right to counsel at reasonable fear review hearings, and that although he was represented by counsel before the IJ, his rights were violated when his lawyer was denied 2 a chance to make a closing statement. Given our disposition of the underlying claims, we think it premature to resolve that issue. At a new hearing on remand, the IJ may well permit counsel to participate to the extent Tomas-Ramos contends is required, making it unnecessary for us to rule on the question. I. Because Tomas-Ramos reentered the United States without authorization after a prior removal, his …
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