NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________ No. 20-1281 ___________ ISAIAS GABRIEL ZAMBRANO-RIOS, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ____________________________________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. A216-027-379) Immigration Judge: Honorable D’Anna H. Freeman ____________________________________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) July 20, 2020 Before: SHWARTZ, RESTREPO and GREENBERG, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: July 23, 2020) ___________ OPINION* ___________ PER CURIAM * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. Isaias Zambrano-Rios, a native and citizen of Ecuador, entered the United States in March 2019. He was subject to a reinstated removal order as he was previously removed from the United States in February 2018. AR 293. Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 208.31, Zambrano-Rios applied for withholding of removal grounded on religious persecution and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). In his testimony before the IJ, Zambrano-Rios alleged three incidents of persecution based on his Evangelical Christian beliefs. First, in February 2018, members of the local community (who are Catholic) pushed and kicked him and dislocated his arm during a gathering at a church that he had built on his property. AR 84. The police came after the incident and instructed him to file a report. Zambrano-Rios needed witnesses, but none were willing to testify because they were afraid. AR 86. Next, in August 2018, a member of the community threw a bottle at Zambrano-Rios while he was preparing for a service, resulting in a laceration that required 12 stitches. AR 89. The police again arrived and sought witnesses, but members of the congregation were afraid to testify. AR 90. Finally, in January 2019, a local group destroyed the church and beat him, and, at some point, someone threatened to kill him. AR 91, 93. He suffered only some scratches. AR 111. The police told Zambrano-Rios he should hire an attorney to recover the damages “because they couldn’t do anything.” AR 92. The IJ denied Zambrano-Rios’s application for withholding of removal. She gave limited weight to his testimony, finding that much of it was not supported by the Country 2 Conditions reports and that no medical documentation was submitted to prove his injuries. AR 44. The IJ held that the three incidents did not rise to the level of persecution and that Zambrano-Rios had not met his burden to show that it was more likely than not that he would be persecuted in Ecuador in the future. She also concluded that the police were not unwilling to protect him; rather, they could not assist him at the time because no one was willing to provide a statement or testify. AR 45-46. Regarding the CAT, the IJ determined that Zambrano-Rios failed to establish that it is more likely than not that he would be tortured if removed to Ecuador or that the Ecuadorian government would commit or acquiesce to such torture. AR ...
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