Omar Osman Mohamed v. Merrick B. Garland, No. 21-2309 (8th Cir. 2022)
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Petitioner entered the United States as a refugee in New York City, New York when he was 16 years old. His status was subsequently adjusted to lawful permanent resident on June 26, 1999. Petitioner’s parents became naturalized citizens in 2003 and 2006 but Petitioner’s application was denied due to a returned check for the processing fees. The IJ issued her decision denying Petitioner’s application for asylum on the grounds that he failed to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion or clan membership. The IJ reasoned that while Petitioner had expressed a subjectively genuine fear of persecution based on the posting of the music video, he had failed to demonstrate his fear was objectively reasonable. Petitioner petitions for review of the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal.
The Eighth Circuit denied his petition. The court explained that when considering Petitioner’s claims, “we lack jurisdiction to review factual findings and may only review constitutional claims or questions of law.” Petitioner has presented no cognizable basis that would prohibit the BIA from remanding for the development of the record on an issue that the record shows was not plainly argued or developed. While Petitioner asserted generally that he was threatened by al-Shabaab and Muslim families because of the music video, he never explicitly claimed that he was being threatened because he was Muslim. Collateral estoppel is inapplicable because all decisions at issue were made at different stages of the same action.
Court Description: [Erickson, Author, with Gruender and Benton, Circuit Judges] Petition for Review - Immigration. Petitioner has presented no cognizable basis that would prohibit the BIA from remanding his case for development of the record on an issue that the record shows was not plainly argued or developed - the nature and source of the threats petitioner received while working as a musician and posting a video of him appearing with a partially clothed woman and whether the threats were tied to his religion; the agency did not err in requiring petitioner to present corroborating evidence to satisfy his burden of proving he faced a particularized threat of persecution; because petitioner is ineligible for withholding of removal because he cannot show future persecution on account of a protected ground, the court would not consider his arguments as to whether the agency erred in finding he could relocate within Somalia.
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