Lenjinac v. Holder, No. 14-1807 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseLenjinac was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1987 and is a Muslim. From 1992 to 1995, Bosnia-Herzegovina was entrenched in a civil war, characterized by ethnic cleansing. Lenjinac’s family home was burned to the ground and Serbian forces captured several male family members who have not been seen since. In 2002, Lenjinac emigrated to the U.S. He became a permanent resident in 2005. In 2010, Lenjinac pleaded guilty to dealing in cocaine. Charged with removability as an aggravated felon (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii)), Lenjinac sought asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) protection. He indicated that given his criminal history in the U.S., he would likely be detained upon his return and tortured. He stated that he would have no safe place to live because he has no family or home in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The IJ only considered CAT deferral because the aggravated felony conviction rendered him ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal and granted his application. Although the BIA accepted the IJ’s findings of fact, it vacated the deferral of removal, citing lack of evidence that parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina retained an interest in harming Lenjinac or that he would be imprisoned for the purpose of causing him pain and suffering. The Seventh Circuit affirmed.
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