RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 22a0141p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ WILSON MANUEL RONDON ANTONIO, │ Petitioner, │ > No. 22-3401 │ v. │ │ MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, │ Respondent. │ ┘ On Emergency Motion for Stay of Removal. Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals; No. A 078 763 727. Decided and Filed: June 29, 2022 Before: GILMAN, KETHLEDGE, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ON EMERGENCY MOTION FOR STAY OF REMOVAL: Stephanie M. Blumenau, BLUMENAU LAW, PLLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Petitioner. ON RESPONSE: Jennifer A. Bowen, Anthony C. Payne, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. _________________ ORDER _________________ Wilson Manuel Rondon Antonio, a native and citizen of the Dominican Republic, petitions for review of an order from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that dismissed his appeal from an immigration judge’s (IJ’s) decision denying his request for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). He moves to stay his removal pending our No. 22-3401 Rondon Antonio v. Garland Page 2 decision on the merits of his petition. The government opposes a stay. We previously granted an administrative stay pending receipt and full consideration of the administrative record. We have the discretion to grant a stay of removal pending our consideration of a petition for review. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(3)(B); Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433 (2009). “The party requesting a stay bears the burden of showing that the circumstances justify an exercise of [our] discretion.” Nken, 556 U.S. at 433−34. Four factors guide our decision: (1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies. Id. at 434 (internal citation omitted); see also Kentucky v. Biden, 23 F.4th 585, 593 (6th Cir. 2022) (“[W]e remember that ‘[t]hese factors are not prerequisites that must be met’; they are instead ‘interrelated considerations that must be balanced together.’” (alterations in original) (quoting SawariMedia, LLC v. Whitmer, 963 F.3d 595, 596 (6th Cir. 2020)). The first two factors “are the most critical.” Nken, 556 U.S. at 434. More than a “possibility” of relief and irreparable harm is necessary to satisfy these factors, respectively, id. at 434−35, and even if a movant can demonstrate irreparable harm, “he is still required to show, at a minimum, ‘serious questions going to the merits,’” Mich. Coal. of Radioactive Material Users, Inc. v. Griepentrog, 945 F.2d 150, 153–54 (6th Cir. 1991) (quoting In re DeLorean Motor Co., 755 F.2d 1223, 1229 (6th Cir. 1985)). Here, everyone agrees that Rondon Antonio will likely be tortured if he is removed to the Dominican Republic—a remarkably strong satisfaction of the irreparable-harm factor. Still, the standard articulated by the Supreme Court demands a strong showing of …
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