NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________ No. 18-3142 Genaro Jimenez Martinez, Petitioner v. Attorney General of the United States of America, Respondent _________________________________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No.: A-205-155-009) Immigration Judge: Honorable Kuyomars Q. Golparvar Submitted under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) on July 2, 2019 (Opinion filed: September 11, 2019) Before: McKEE, PORTER and RENDELL, Circuit Judges O P I N I O N* * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. RENDELL, Circuit Judge. Genaro Jimenez-Martinez petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immi- gration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his applica- tions for relief from removal. We will deny in part and dismiss in part his petition for re- view. I Martinez is a native of Mexico who entered the United States illegally in 2000. Prior to his entry into the United States, Martinez served as a police officer in Mexico. He alleges that he was kidnapped by members of a drug cartel and tortured because of his work as a law enforcement officer. Shortly after being released from captivity, Martinez fled to the United States. In 2017, Martinez was convicted by guilty plea in federal court of possessing a firearm and ammunition while being an illegal alien. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A). Martinez admitted to using a counterfeit Social Security card to purchase the firearms and ammunition. He was sentenced to a term of eighteen months’ imprisonment. The De- partment of Homeland Security (“DHS”) initiated removal proceedings against him upon his release. The Notice of Removal charged him with removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) as an illegal alien convicted of an aggravated felony. DHS subse- quently issued a Final Administrative Removal Order finding that Martinez was remova- ble as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony and was not eligible for any discretion- ary relief. See 8 U.S.C. § 1228(b)(5) (“No alien described in this section [aliens 2 convicted of aggravated felonies] shall be eligible for any relief from removal that the At- torney General may grant in the Attorney General’s discretion.”). Martinez did not challenge that he was subject to removal for his conviction of an aggravated felony. Instead, he petitioned for withholding of removal under the Immigra- tion and Nationality Act (“INA”) and the United Nations Convention against Torture (“CAT”) and deferral of removal under the CAT. An asylum officer determined that he had demonstrated a reasonable fear of torture, and he was referred to an IJ for proceed- ings to determine his eligibility for withholding or deferral of removal. The government argued that Martinez was ineligible for withholding of removal under the INA and CAT because his conviction of an aggravated felony constituted a “particularly serious crime.” See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(B)(ii). Martinez argued that, if he returned to Mexico, he risked persecution or torture as a ...
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