Case: 19-10711 Date Filed: 01/23/2020 Page: 1 of 17 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 19-10711 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A208-887-010 JOSE ISIDRO RIVAS PALENCIA, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (January 23, 2020) Before WILSON, JILL PRYOR and HULL, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 19-10711 Date Filed: 01/23/2020 Page: 2 of 17 Jose Isidro Rivas Palencia petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision. In its decision, the BIA denied Rivas Palencia’s request to terminate his removal proceedings and also affirmed the immigration judge’s order denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). After careful consideration, we deny his petition. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Rivas Palencia, a citizen of Honduras, entered the United States without inspection on January 30, 2016. This appeal involves his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT. A. After Entering the United States, Rivas is Served with a Notice to Appear. Shortly after Rivas Palencia arrived in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) served him with a notice to appear (“NTA”), which charged him with being removable on the basis that he was an immigrant not in possession of a valid, unexpired immigrant visa or other entry document. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I). Although the NTA identified the location for the 2 Case: 19-10711 Date Filed: 01/23/2020 Page: 3 of 17 initial hearing, it stated that the date and time of the hearing were “To Be Determined.” AR at 334.1 About a week later, Rivas Palencia was served with a Notice of Hearing, which identified the date, time, and location for the initial hearing. At the hearing, Rivas Palencia acknowledged service of the NTA and conceded his removability. B. Rivas’s Applies for Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Protection under the CAT. After his initial hearing, Rivas Palencia filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal as well as protection under the CAT. To support his claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection, Rivas Palencia testified at a hearing before the immigration judge, submitted an affidavit from his stepfather and mother, and filed various documentary evidence about his sisters’ murders and reports about country conditions in Honduras. Rivas Palencia testified that he fled Honduras for the United States because he feared that the family of a gang member would kill him. Approximately two years before Rivas Palencia came to the United States, two of his sisters were murdered in Honduras. They were murdered by Rudy Gonzalez, the boyfriend of one of his sisters, who was also a gang member. Gonzalez was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment. Although Gonzalez 1 Citations to “AR” refer to the administrative record. 3 Case: 19-10711 Date Filed: 01/23/2020 Page: 4 of ...
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