NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUL 18 2022 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT MARVIN GEOVANY LEYVA- No. 17-71072 MARTINEZ, Agency No. A097-543-682 Petitioner, v. MEMORANDUM* MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted July 14, 2022** Pasadena, California Before: BENNETT and KOH, Circuit Judges, and KATZMANN,*** Judge. Marvin Leyva-Martinez (“Petitioner”), a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions for review of the denial of his applications for withholding of removal * 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). *** The Honorable Gary S. Katzmann, Judge for the United States Court of International Trade, sitting by designation. and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 and deny the petition. Petitioner entered the United States in 2004. In February 2013, Petitioner was arrested for, and later convicted of, aiding and abetting an exhibition of speed in violation of California law. Following this conviction, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against Petitioner. Petitioner conceded removability and applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection on October 7, 2014. In his application, Petitioner stated that he feared returning to Honduras because he was afraid of his former gang, Mara Salvatrucha (“MS”), which he had “abandon[ed].” Sometime in 2014, after removal proceedings began, Petitioner received a prominent face tattoo with the letters “MS” on his upper lip. On November 29, 2016, Petitioner submitted a second application for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. In his second application, Petitioner stated that he was not in the MS gang anymore, and that he feared returning to Honduras because of his visible gang tattoos. An immigration judge (“IJ”) conducted a merits hearing on November 30, 2016. At the merits hearing, Petitioner admitted that he lied in his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection about being a former gang member. Petitioner admitted that he was a current MS gang member. 2 On November 30, 2016, the IJ denied Petitioner’s application for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. The IJ determined that Petitioner was not a credible witness because he lied about his gang membership status. The IJ denied Petitioner’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal because Petitioner’s testimony, which constituted the primary bases for his claims for asylum and withholding of removal, was not credible. The IJ also denied Petitioner’s application for CAT protection because Petitioner did not present sufficient evidence to establish that he would more likely than not be tortured because of his gang-related tattoos upon his return to Honduras. On April 4, 2017, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) agreed with the IJ’s decision. Before this court, Petitioner challenges only the IJ and BIA’s decisions …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals