Juan Torres-Torres v. William Barr


NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS NOV 19 2020 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT JUAN ALBERTO TORRES-TORRES, No. 18-71349 AKA Juan Alberto Torres, Agency No. A041-765-869 Petitioner, v. MEMORANDUM* WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted November 17, 2020** San Francisco, California Before: NGUYEN, HURWITZ, and BRESS, Circuit Judges. Juan Alberto Torres Torres, a legal permanent resident and a citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of withholding of removal and denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1252. 1. Torres Torres challenges the IJ’s finding that his conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in violation of federal law was a “particularly serious” crime. “We have jurisdiction to review for abuse of discretion the BIA’s conclusion that an offense constitutes a particularly serious crime. Our review is limited to ensuring that the agency relied on the appropriate factors and proper evidence . . . . We may not reweigh the evidence and reach our own determination about the crime’s seriousness.” Avendano-Hernandez v. Lynch, 800 F.3d 1072, 1077 (9th Cir. 2015) (citations and quotation omitted). The Attorney General has created “an extraordinarily strong presumption that drug trafficking offenses are particularly serious crimes.” Miguel-Miguel v. Gonzales, 500 F.3d 941, 947 (9th Cir. 2007). Under In Re Y-L-, 23 I. & N. Dec. 270, 274 (2002) overruled on other grounds by Zheng v. Ashcroft, 332 F.3d 1186, 1196 (9th Cir. 2003), “aggravated felonies involving unlawful trafficking in controlled substances” are presumptively particularly serious crimes, and “[o]nly under the most extenuating circumstances that are both extraordinary and compelling would departure from this interpretation be warranted or permissible.” To overcome the In re Y-L- presumption, a petitioner must demonstrate at a minimum: (1) a very small quantity of controlled substance; (2) a very modest amount of money paid for the drugs in the offending transaction; (3) merely peripheral involvement . . . in the criminal activity, transaction, or conspiracy; (4) the absence of any violence or 2 threat of violence, implicit or otherwise, associated with the offense; (5) the absence of any organized crime or terrorist organization involvement, direct or indirect, in relation to the offending activity; and (6) the absence of any adverse or harmful effect of the activity or transaction on juveniles. In Re Y-L-, 23 I. & N. Dec. at 276–77. The IJ’s finding that Torres Torres was only able to demonstrate that there was no violence associated with his crime was supported by substantial evidence. Thus, the BIA did not abuse its discretion in holding that ...

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