USCA11 Case: 18-13474 Date Filed: 12/09/2020 Page: 1 of 34 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-13474 ________________________ Agency No. A216-031-223 ANGEL VASQUEZ GARCIA, AXEL VASQUEZ NORIEGA, Petitioners, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (December 9, 2020) Before MARTIN, NEWSOM, and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: USCA11 Case: 18-13474 Date Filed: 12/09/2020 Page: 2 of 34 This is the appeal of a father, Angel Vasquez Garcia (Angel), and his adult son, Axel Vasquez Noriega (Axel), from a decision of the Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing their appeal of an immigration judge’s (IJ) denial of their petitions for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Angel and Axel are Venezuelan citizens alleging that they have been victims of political persecution by the Venezuelan government. After careful consideration, we affirm the BIA’s decision to deny relief to Angel, but we remand for clarification as to Axel’s past-persecution claim. I A In August 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice to appear (NTA) charging Axel with removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) for being an alien without a valid entry document at the time of his application for admission. DHS issued a similar NTA to Angel the following month, and both Angel and Axel conceded removability. They applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection,1 alleging past persecution and a fear of future persecution based on their political beliefs. 1 Angel and Axel have abandoned any CAT-related arguments on appeal—although they included the standard for CAT relief in their brief, they don’t challenge the BIA’s ruling on that claim in any way. See, e.g., Sepulveda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 401 F.3d 1226, 1228 n.2 (11th Cir. 2 USCA11 Case: 18-13474 Date Filed: 12/09/2020 Page: 3 of 34 Specifically, Angel and Axel claimed that they were opponents of “the socialist, totalitarian government of Venezuela,” Adeco (Democratic Action) Party sympathizers, and active members of the “Primero Justicia” (Justice First) opposition movement. They alleged that their wife/mother, Yeasse Noriega de Vazquez (Yeasse), was injured by a government vehicle that drove into a crowd of protestors and that Axel “was injured by a projectile shot by government forces.” Further, they stated that a neighbor warned them that they were going to be detained by the authorities—this warning, they said, prompted them to flee to Colombia, and ultimately to seek refuge in the United States. Angel and Axel attached several exhibits to their applications, including affidavits detailing the events prompting their flight to the United States. One affidavit was from Yeasse, in which she stated that she and her family are “strongly opposed to the current government and its abuses towards anyone who is not a member of their party” and had “been victims of violent persecution” from the Venezuelan government. Yeasse said ...
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