F. J. A. P. v. Garland, No. 21-2284 (7th Cir. 2024)
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In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit was asked to review a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) concerning F.J.A.P., a petitioner from El Salvador. F.J.A.P. had previously been removed from the U.S. but returned due to threats from the MS-13 gang. After his return to the U.S., his original removal order was reinstated. F.J.A.P. then applied for withholding-only relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), which an immigration judge granted. However, the BIA reversed this decision. F.J.A.P. petitioned the Seventh Circuit for review.
The court first addressed whether it had jurisdiction to review F.J.A.P.'s claim. The court concluded that a reinstated order of removal was not final for purposes of judicial review under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 until the agency had completed withholding proceedings. Therefore, F.J.A.P.'s petition was timely because it was filed within 30 days of the completion of his CAT proceedings.
On the merits of the case, the court found that the BIA had not applied the correct standard of review to the immigration judge's decision. The BIA was required to review the immigration judge's factual findings for clear error, not de novo. However, the BIA had failed to address the immigration judge's key factual findings, had given more weight to certain facts in the record than others, and had not explained how the immigration judge's alleged errors displayed a lack of logic, plausibility, or support in the record. As a result, the court granted F.J.A.P.'s petition and remanded the case to the BIA for reconsideration of the immigration judge's decision under the correct standard of review.
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