Del Cid Marroquin v. Lynch, No. 13-71583 (9th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, a native of El Salvador, petitioned for review of the BIA's denial of his application for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Petitioner sought review on May 3, 2013. After another panel of this Court denied petitioner's request for a stay, he was removed to El Salvador on November 19, 2013. The court concluded that, while granting petitioner's petition will not guarantee his return to the United States, it will at least increase his chances of being allowed to do so. Therefore, the court can provide effective relief and his removal to El Salvador does not render the petition moot. The court also concluded that substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that it is not more likely than not that petitioner will be tortured in El Salvador. Although gang membership is illegal under Salvadoran law, petitioner did not establish that the government tortures former gang members or those with gang-related tattoos. In addition, Salvadoran law prohibits extrajudicial killings and violence, and there is substantial evidence that the government enforces those laws. With respect to private violence, the court concluded that the BIA’s decision rests on a correct understanding of government “acquiescence” in torture. Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review.
Court Description: Immigration. The panel denied a petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of protection under the Convention Against Torture to a citizen of El Salvador who fears torture due to his former gang affiliation and gang- related tattoos. The panel first held that petitioner’s removal from the United States did not moot his petition for review. The panel explained that while granting the petition would not guarantee petitioner’s return to the United States, because the government has acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security has a policy facilitating the return, in certain circumstances, of removed aliens whose petitions for review are granted, it will at least increase his chances of being allowed to do so. The panel concluded that it could therefore provide effective relief and petitioner’s removal to El Salvador did not render the petition moot. The panel held that substantial evidence supported the Board’s determination that it is not more likely than not that petitioner will be tortured in El Salvador. The panel explained that although gang membership is illegal under Salvadoran law, petitioner did not establish that the government tortures former gang members or those with gang-related tattoos. In addition, the panel noted that Salvadoran law prohibits extrajudicial killings and violence, DEL CID MARROQUIN V. LYNCH 3 and concluded that there is substantial evidence that the government enforces those laws—albeit imperfectly— against both gang members and rogue police officers.
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