NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 18-1842 _____________ LAKHWINDER SINGH, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _______________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the United States Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA No. A204-245-570) Immigration Judge: Daniel A. Morris _______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) January 22, 2019 Before: JORDAN, KRAUSE, and ROTH, Circuit Judges (Filed June 4, 2019) _______________ OPINION* _______________ * This disposition is not an opinion of the full court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not constitute binding precedent. JORDAN, Circuit Judge. Lakhwinder Singh petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal from the denial of his application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We will deny the petition in part and dismiss it in part. I. BACKGROUND Singh is a native and citizen of India. In 2004, when he was nine years old, he entered the United States as a B-2 visitor with his family.1 He was later granted Temporary Protected Status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program. In December 2016, he pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture or distribute a controlled dangerous substance—in his case, less than an ounce of marijuana—in violation of N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2C:5-2A(1), 2C:35-5A(1), and was sentenced to two years’ probation. Later that month, his DACA status expired. Some five months later, Singh was taken into custody during an immigration enforcement surge, and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) commenced removal proceedings against him. He was served with a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) charging him with being removable as an “overstay,” under section 237(a)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B), and for violating a 1 A B-2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa for foreign citizens seeking to enter the United States for tourism. Visitor Visa, U.S. Dep’t of State, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel /en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html (last visited Dec. 12, 2018). 2 law relating to a controlled substance, under section 237(a)(2)(B)(i) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i).2 Singh admitted his prior conviction and conceded removability but then applied for withholding of removal and protection under the CAT.3 In his application, Singh, who is a Sikh, alleged a fear of future persecution based on his religion; his political opinion, namely, support of the creation of a separate Sikh state in India called Khalistan; the imputed political opinion of his uncles, vocal pro- Khalistan advocates who had been tortured by the Indian police for that advocacy; and Singh’s membership in a particular social group consisting of “a Khalistani family who has advocated for the creation of a separate Sikh homeland[.]” (AR at 403.) To support his application, Singh submitted a personal declaration and evidence about conditions in India. An Immigration Judge (“IJ”) held a hearing on Singh’s application. Singh and his uncle, Daljit Singh, testified at the hearing about the danger Singh faced if returned to India. After ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals