Case: 17-10711 Date Filed: 04/19/2018 Page: 1 of 20 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 17-10711 ________________________ Agency No. A088-023-457 CHE ERIC SAMA, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals _______________________ (April 19, 2018) Before WILLIAM PRYOR and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges, and ANTOON, * District Judge. WILLIAM PRYOR, Circuit Judge: * Honorable John Antoon II, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, sitting by designation. Case: 17-10711 Date Filed: 04/19/2018 Page: 2 of 20 This petition for review requires us to decide whether substantial evidence supports the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals that Che Eric Sama did not suffer past persecution by the Cameroonian police and that he lacked a well- founded fear of future persecution. Sama, a native and citizen of Cameroon, filed the petition to review the denial of his applications for asylum, 8 U.S.C. § 1158, and for withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act, id.§ 1231(b)(3), and under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 8 C.F.R. § 208.16. Sama contends that the record compels findings that he suffered persecution and that he had a well-founded fear of being singled out for future persecution for associating with two gay friends and posting a message in a university publication condemning the treatment of gay individuals. But we disagree. The Board was entitled to find that any mistreatment that Sama suffered did not rise to the level of persecution, to find that the police investigated his mistreatment, and to rely on country reports published by the State Department that state that conditions in Cameroon are improving for gay individuals. Sama also argues that the Board denied him due process when it weighed his evidence. But due process required only notice and an opportunity to be heard, and Sama received both. We deny Sama’s petition for review. 2 Case: 17-10711 Date Filed: 04/19/2018 Page: 3 of 20 I. BACKGROUND This appeal arises from Che Eric Sama’s most recent attempt to enter the United States. He testified that he has applied for various kinds of visas “about five times” and that he “was banned from applying again” because he submitted a bank statement that “was not original.” This time, he came to the United States seeking asylum, 8 U.S.C. § 1158, and withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3), and the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 8 C.F.R. § 208.16, after a friend in Nigeria told him that he “could get out of the country and apply for asylum where [he] w[ould] be safe.” In 2015, Sama posted a message in a university publication in Cameroon “supporting homosexuality and asking for equal rights for homosexuals.” He testified that he protested the expulsion of two friends, Fai David and David’s ...
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