United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 22-1334 ___________________________ Alexander Arroyo-Sosa Petitioner v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General of the United States Respondent ___________________________ No. 22-2593 ___________________________ Alexander Arroyo-Sosa Petitioner v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General of the United States Respondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: March 14, 2023 Filed: July 13, 2023 ____________ Before SHEPHERD, ERICKSON, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge. Alexander Arroyo-Sosa, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review from two orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and denying his request to reopen and reconsider the denial of his applications. Having jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 and for the following reasons, we deny the petitions for review. I. On an unknown date in approximately 2000, Arroyo-Sosa entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, without being admitted or paroled. In 2016, after Arroyo- Sosa was convicted of filing an application for a false driver’s license under Kansas law, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged Arroyo-Sosa with removability as an alien present in the United States without having been admitted or paroled. Arroyo-Sosa appeared before an immigration judge (IJ), admitted the factual allegations in the Notice to Appear, and conceded removability. Then, in 2017, Arroyo-Sosa filed applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection, claiming that, as a former member of a Mexican paramilitary group, he would be subject to violence from organized crime members if he were to return to Mexico. In 2019, the IJ held a hearing on Arroyo-Sosa’s applications and request for CAT protection. Arroyo-Sosa appeared at the hearing represented by his attorney, Alan Bell. Before turning to the merits of Arroyo-Sosa’s applications, the IJ questioned Arroyo-Sosa about an affidavit he had filed prior to the hearing with the assistance of another attorney stating that he did not wish for Mr. Bell to continue representing him. Arroyo-Sosa affirmed that he signed the affidavit attesting that he -2- did not want Mr. Bell to continue to represent him. In the affidavit, Arroyo-Sosa also attested that he had paid Mr. Bell $33,000, but Mr. Bell had asked for more money, had not done any work on Arroyo-Sosa’s behalf, and had been incorrect on the law. Arroyo-Sosa also testified that he had, one day after signing the affidavit, in a handwritten statement in English, expressed his satisfaction with Mr. Bell’s representation. Arroyo-Sosa then testified that “[t]he treatment of Mr. Bell towards [his] case [had] been excellent.” When questioned about the discrepancy between the affidavit and the handwritten statement, Arroyo-Sosa claimed that he did not fully understand the affidavit because it was written in English. After remarking that Arroyo-Sosa’s handwritten statement was also in English and questioning whether Arroyo-Sosa understood English, the IJ asked Arroyo-Sosa if he had been coached to write his statement. Arroyo-Sosa confirmed he wrote the statement …
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