USCA11 Case: 21-13973 Date Filed: 06/23/2022 Page: 1 of 9 [DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 21-13973 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ JIA XIN CHEN, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ____________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals Agency No. A098-501-629 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 21-13973 Date Filed: 06/23/2022 Page: 2 of 9 21-13973 Opinion of the Court 2 Before WILSON, TJOFLAT, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Jia Chen seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) final order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of withholding of removal under INA § 241(b)(3), 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3). He argues that he provided credible testimony regarding past persecution and that he established a well-founded fear of future persecution. We deny his petition. I. Chen, a native and citizen of China made three unsuccessful attempts to enter the United States in July, August, and September of 1988. In October of 1999, Chen finally succeeded in entering the United States. In March of 2006, he was served with a Notice to Appear (“NTA”), which charged him with being removable under INA § 212(a)(6)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), as an alien who had entered the United States without admission or parole. Chen admitted the allegations contained in the NTA and conceded removability. Chen filed an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) relief in November 2006. He indicated he was seeking asylum and withholding of removal based on political opinion and membership in a particular social group. Specifically, he claimed that he faced persecution based on his violation of China’s family USCA11 Case: 21-13973 Date Filed: 06/23/2022 Page: 3 of 9 21-13973 Opinion of the Court 3 planning policy and his support of Falun Gong. 1 He asserted that if he were sent back to China, the “Chinese government would arrest [him] for sentence, detention, further persecution and punishment,” and he “would lose [his] personal freedom.” In support of his application, Chen submitted a 2007 State Department report on Chinese asylum claims, an affidavit from a friend stating that Chen had been arrested in China due to his Falun Gong activity, an affidavit from his ex-wife stating that Chen had been beaten and detained by family planning officials in China, and an affidavit from an American friend stating she had seen Chen practicing Falun Gong in the United States. The IJ denied Chen’s application. The IJ first found that Chen’s application for asylum was time-barred. The IJ then found that Chen was not credible and concluded that Chen was an “economic opportunist” trying to find a place to work and earn money rather than a refugee. Although Chen testified that he feared persecution were he to return to China, the IJ noted that Chen had previously told U.S. and Italian immigration authorities that he had no fear of persecution were he to return to China; his friend’s affidavit also failed to corroborate that Chen had …
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