NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _______________________ No. 20-3282 _______________________ ANTONIO ROBERT COLE, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ______________________ On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals No. A216-647-063 Immigration Judge: Honorable Nelson A. Vargas-Padilla __________________________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) September 21, 2021 Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, McKEE, and RESTREPO, Circuit Judges (Opinion Filed: September 24, 2021) _________________________ OPINION* __________________________ * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. SMITH, Chief Judge. Antonio Robert Cole, a native and citizen of Jamaica, petitions for review of the decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to dismiss his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of withholding of removal. For the following reasons, the petition will be denied. I. Cole, who is in his twenties, has resided in the United States illegally since he was a baby. After immigration proceedings were initiated, Cole learned that his father, a former Jamaican police officer whom Cole has not seen or spoken to in many years, was involved in a shootout with a gang in 2000. His father has experienced “direct and indirect” threats on his life since the shootout, including a November 2012 incident in which he was shot and injured. AR 91. Since then, he has lived unharmed in Jamaica. Before the IJ, Cole applied for withholding of removal1 on the basis that he is a member of the particular social group (PSG), “son of a police officer in 1 Cole also applied for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The IJ denied CAT relief and the BIA upheld that decision. Because Cole’s brief to this Court does not present any arguments concerning the denial of CAT protection, the claim is waived, and we will not discuss it further. See Chen v. Ashcroft, 381 F.3d 221, 235 (3d Cir. 2004) (holding that a failure to challenge the denial of a form of relief results in waiver of the claim). 2 Jamaica.” He claimed as a member of that PSG to fear violence in retaliation for his father’s anti-gang actions. The IJ found Cole credible and observed that Cole’s parents had submitted documents corroborating aspects of his testimony. The IJ determined, however, that relief was not warranted because a preponderance of the evidence did not support withholding of removal. The IJ observed, among other things, that the most recent violence against Cole’s father occurred more than eight years ago and there was insufficient evidence that gang members are still pursuing him. In addition, Cole’s testimony that the gangs would know of his familial relationship with his father based on resemblance was mere speculation. Although the IJ expressed sympathy for Cole, he concluded, “there just is not enough here to grant” relief. AR 94. On appeal, the BIA affirmed and adopted the IJ’s decision, agreeing that Cole did not meet his burden of proof. Cole timely filed this petition …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals