NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 21a0445n.06 No. 20-3815 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Sep 29, 2021 FAWZI SAMI ZAYA, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) Petitioner, ) ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW v. ) OF AN ORDER OF THE U.S. ) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MERRICK B. GARLAND, U.S. Attorney General, ) EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ) IMMIGRATION REVIEW Respondent. ) IMMIGRATION COURT ) Before: ROGERS, BUSH, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM. Fawzi Sami Zaya petitions for review of an immigration judge’s (IJ) determination that he did not have a reasonable fear of torture upon removal to Iraq. For the reasons stated, we GRANT the petition and REMAND for proceedings consistent with this opinion. I. Fawzi Sami Zaya, an Iraqi citizen born in Kuwait, came to the United States with his family when he was four years old. He has lived in the Detroit area since then. He has never been to Iraq and speaks only English. His wife, to whom he has been married for eighteen years, is a United States citizen. They have three children together. Zaya is a Chaldean Christian. Due to a combination of hemorrhaging spinal discs, spinal arthritis, and a stroke that permanently weakened his left side, he cannot walk and is in a wheelchair. Zaya also has a lengthy criminal history, culminating with a conviction for second-degree murder under Michigan law. No. 20-3815, Zaya v. Garland When Zaya finished his prison sentence, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated administrative removal proceedings against him under 8 U.S.C. § 1228. Zaya sought deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), the only relief available to him because of his criminal history. Because Zaya expressed a fear of being removed to Iraq, he was given a reasonable-fear screening interview before an asylum officer to determine whether there was a reasonable possibility he would be tortured in Iraq. The asylum officer found Zaya credible but determined that he did not have a reasonable fear of torture. Zaya then sought review by an IJ who agreed with the asylum officer’s conclusion. With no appeal being available before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), see 8 C.F.R. § 208.31(g)(1), Zaya petitions this court for review of the IJ’s decision. II. An alien facing removal may seek limited forms of relief under the CAT. When an alien facing administrative removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1228 expresses fear of returning to his native country, the first step is a “reasonable fear” screening interview. 8 C.F.R. § 208.31(a). An asylum officer interviews the alien, “in a non-adversarial manner, separate and apart from the general public.” Id. § 208.31(c). An “alien may be represented by counsel or an accredited representative at the interview . . . and may present evidence, if available, relevant to the possibility of persecution or torture.”1 Id. An alien, however, has little time to amass such evidence, given that the interview must be conducted within “10 days of the referral” to the asylum …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals