NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ______________ No. 19-3541 ______________ MARCEL ANTHONY BENT, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ______________ ON PETITION FOR REVIEW OF A DECISION OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS (Agency No. A046-243-570) Immigration Judge: Jeffrey Mankin ______________ Submitted under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) March 18, 2021 ______________ Before: SHWARTZ, MATEY, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges. * (Filed: March 19, 2021) ______________ OPINION ** ______________ * The Honorable William Byrd Traxler, Jr., United States Circuit Judge for the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting by designation. ** This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. SHWARTZ, Circuit Judge. Marcel Anthony Bent petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the decision of the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denying his application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We will dismiss the petition in part and deny the petition in part because: (1) Bent was convicted of an aggravated felony and thus we lack jurisdiction to review factual findings related to his request for withholding of removal; (2) the IJ and BIA applied the correct legal standard in determining that his conviction was for a particularly serious crime, making him ineligible for withholding of removal; and (3) the denial of Bent’s CAT claim was supported by substantial evidence. I Bent, a native and citizen of Jamaica, was admitted to the United States in December 1997 as a lawful permanent resident. He was later indicted on several charges related to a racketeering enterprise involving drug trafficking, robbery, and murder, and he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d). He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release. Thereafter, Bent received a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) in the Immigration Court. The NTA charged him with being subject to removal because he had been convicted of an aggravated felony, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). 2 After the IJ sustained the charges of removability, Bent filed, among other things, an application for withholding of removal and protection under the CAT, arguing that he would face torture for his homosexuality if he returned to Jamaica. 1 The IJ concluded that Bent’s aggravated felony conviction constituted a particularly serious crime, rendering him ineligible for withholding of removal. The IJ also determined that Bent did not qualify for CAT protection because his fear of torture based on his sexuality was “speculative” and he did not provide evidence “establish[ing] that such torture would be committed by or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official.” A.R. 79. Bent appealed to the BIA. The BIA affirmed the IJ’s order and dismissed the appeal. It agreed that Bent’s conspiracy to commit racketeering conviction constituted an aggravated felony and a particularly serious crime, rendering him ineligible for withholding of removal. It also determined …
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