NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit Chicago, Illinois 60604 Argued October 6, 2020 Decided February 9, 2021 Before DIANE P. WOOD, Circuit Judge MICHAEL B. BRENNAN, Circuit Judge MICHAEL Y. SCUDDER, Circuit Judge No. 19‐2165 DJILLALI AHMED, Petition for Review of an Order of the Petitioner, Board of Immigration Appeals. v. No. A 077‐820‐051 MONTY WILKINSON,* Acting Attorney General of the United States, Respondent. ORDER This petition for review concerns the denial of Djillali Ahmed’s second motion to reopen his (very protracted) immigration proceedings. An Algerian who fled the *We have substituted Monty Wilkinson, the acting Attorney General, for the respondent. FED. R. APP. P. 43(c). No. 19‐2165 Page 2 country in 1999 after serving in its military and state police forces, Ahmed argues that his removal proceedings must be reopened because of changed circumstances there— namely, an escalating conflict between Algeria’s security forces and Islamic militants, and a death threat targeting him that was sent to his family’s home.1 But because Ahmed failed to supply evidence demonstrating his prima facie eligibility for asylum, we must deny his petition. I Ahmed, now 49 years old, testified that he came to this country out of concern that terrorist organizations in Algeria had targeted him for harm because of his role in the anti‐terrorist operations of the Algerian government’s security forces. He served in the Algerian army in the early 1990s; during that stint he spent 10 months guarding a jail that housed captured Islamic terrorists. In 1994, he joined the Algerian state police force and was assigned to airport security, a dangerous job that included scanning for bombs and contraband. At that time, Ahmed testified, police officers were being killed daily by Islamic militants. Ahmed resigned in 1996 after Islamic militants ambushed a group of fellow officers. On one occasion, someone shot at Ahmed while he was visiting his sick father. In early 1999, he smuggled himself into this country by hiding aboard a petroleum ship bound for Boston. Ahmed soon was placed in removal proceedings. He conceded removability but applied for asylum based on his membership in a particular social group—Algeria’s police and security forces. An immigration judge denied his application, concluding that he could not show past persecution or a well‐founded fear of future persecution, since he had not pointed to anything distinct from the occupational hazards that went along with his prior security jobs. Ahmed then appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. While that appeal was pending, he moved to remand his proceedings so that he could adjust his status to reflect his selection in the 2001 Diversity Immigration Visa Program. The Board denied that motion, because Ahmed did not meet the statutory requirements for adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i). In the same order, the Board upheld the denial of his application for immigration relief. The Board agreed with the immigration judge that the dangers faced by ...
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