Widner Anthony Leonard v. U.S. Attorney General


USCA11 Case: 20-12231 Date Filed: 04/27/2021 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 20-12231 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A209-391-985 WIDNER ANTHONY LEONARD, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (April 27, 2021) Before WILSON, ROSENBAUM, and GRANT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Widner Anthony Leonard seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order affirming the immigration judge’s denial of his applications for asylum, statutory withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations USCA11 Case: 20-12231 Date Filed: 04/27/2021 Page: 2 of 8 Convention Against Torture. Because we agree that Leonard was not eligible for these forms of relief, we deny his petition. I. Leonard, a native and citizen of Haiti, entered the United States in 2016 and applied for admission. Because he did not possess valid entry documents, the Department of Homeland Security charged him with removability. Leonard admitted the factual allegations in his notice to appear but applied for asylum, statutory withholding of removal, and protection under CAT. In support of his applications, he alleged that he had been “harmed and menaced a lot of times” in Haiti because he supported a political party known as the Struggling People’s Organization. According to Leonard, a man named Jacques Stevenson Thimoleon—the “Minister of Planning” in Haiti—sent “bandits” to threaten Leonard into supporting the opposing political party, the Tet Kale Party. He said that Thimoleon’s men severely beat him and threatened to kill him if he did not leave Haiti. Leonard did not go to the police about these incidents; instead, he fled the country. The immigration judge held a hearing on Leonard’s applications for relief. At the hearing, Leonard said that the Tet Kale Party had attacked his family and recently killed his father for not turning him in. The immigration judge asked Leonard why he had not mentioned his father’s death before; Leonard replied that 2 USCA11 Case: 20-12231 Date Filed: 04/27/2021 Page: 3 of 8 he only answered questions he was asked. Leonard then conceded that there was no evidence in the record—other than his own testimony—to show that Thimoleon existed. When asked why he did not submit medical records to corroborate his claimed attacks, Leonard said that he did not have the phone number for the hospital. He also admitted that his siblings could read and write but that he had not submitted letters from any of them in support of his requests for relief. The immigration judge found Leonard removable as charged and denied his applications for relief, concluding that his testimony was not credible and his allegations were not corroborated. The Board affirmed; it agreed that Leonard did not provide sufficient evidence of his eligibility for relief. This petition followed. II. We review our subject matter jurisdiction de novo. Martinez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 446 F.3d 1219, 1221 (11th Cir. 2006). Where we have jurisdiction, we review only …

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