Case: 18-15001 Date Filed: 10/22/2019 Page: 1 of 9 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-15001 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A216-428-014 BERERLYN VELASQUEZ-GONZALEZ, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (October 22, 2019) Before TJOFLAT, JORDAN, and NEWSOM, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 18-15001 Date Filed: 10/22/2019 Page: 2 of 9 Bererlyn Velasquez-Gonzalez appeals a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the immigration judge’s denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief. She also appeals the BIA’s denial of her motion to reopen and remand her case to the immigration court, which she made based on the alleged ineffective assistance of her prior counsel during her initial immigration court proceedings. We hold that we lack jurisdiction to consider Velasquez-Gonzalez’s merits-based appeal. We also hold that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in rejecting her motion to reopen and remand. I In March 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol detained Velasquez- Gonzalez, a Venezuelan citizen, after she attempted to enter the United States at the Atlanta airport without a valid entry document. The Department of Homeland Security then served Velasquez-Gonzalez with a notice to appear, charging her with removability under INA § 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I). Velasquez-Gonzalez appeared before an immigration judge, who sustained the charge of removability. Velasquez-Gonzalez then filed an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection, asserting persecution based on her political opinion. At her merits hearing, Velasquez-Gonzalez testified that 2 Case: 18-15001 Date Filed: 10/22/2019 Page: 3 of 9 she had twice been robbed in Venezuela by a government-backed gang. She stated that she feared she would face further persecution if she were forced to return. In July 2018, the immigration judge issued an oral decision denying Velasquez-Gonzalez’s applications and ordering her removed to Venezuela. According to the immigration judge, Velasquez-Gonzalez provided no evidence to corroborate her claims of past persecution and—even if she had—those claims would not rise to the level of harm required to constitute persecution. Velasquez-Gonzalez then filed a notice of appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals through new counsel. On appeal, Velasquez-Gonzalez did not contest the merits of the immigration judge’s decision, but argued that her application for asylum and CAT protection should be reopened and remanded to the immigration court due to the ineffective assistance of her prior counsel, whom Velasquez-Gonzalez alleged failed to properly advise her or present her corroborating evidence to the immigration judge. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed the immigration judge’s decision based on two holdings. First, the BIA agreed with the immigration judge that Velasquez-Gonzalez did not present evidence of past persecution in Venezuela and had not demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of future persecution based on her political opinion. Second, the BIA refused to remand Velasquez-Gonzalez’s claim to the immigration court because she had not satisfied the ...
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