Lenin Silva Vega v. Attorney General United States


NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________ No. 20-3374 ___________ LENIN GERARDO SILVA VEGA, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ____________________________________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (No. A216-430-387) Immigration Judge: Mirlande Tadal ____________________________________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) on June 25, 2021 Before: GREENAWAY, JR., KRAUSE, and BIBAS, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: July 30, 2021) ____________________________________ ___________ OPINION* ___________ PER CURIAM Lenin Gerardo Silva Vega seeks review of a final removal order of the Board of Immi- gration Appeals (“BIA”), dismissing his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) de- nial of his applications for relief. For the reasons that follow, we will dismiss the petition for review in part and deny it in part. In 2016, Silva Vega, a citizen of Colombia, arrived in the United States as a non-immi- grant visitor. In August 2019, the Government charged him with removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B), for remaining in the United States longer than permitted. Through counsel, Silva Vega conceded the charge but applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). On the due date for submitting evidence before his hearing, Silva Vega filed a motion for a continuance to obtain and submit declarations from family members, an expert report on country conditions, and a report concerning a potential psychological evaluation. The IJ denied the motion, stating the lack of availability for a hearing within a reasonable time frame. Silva Vega later ob- tained and submitted additional declarations from family, along with a motion to accept untimely filing; the IJ accepted the evidence at the hearing. * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. 2 Silva Vega testified as the sole witness. He stated that for most of his childhood, he did not have a relationship with his biological father, Milton Silva Algodelo, who was a mem- ber of the FARC guerilla group. He first met his father when he was nine or ten years old, when his father summoned his family to meet him for several days at a remote jungle lo- cation. After that, Silva Vega stated that he only saw his father on television during Co- lombia’s peace negotiations with the FARC. Silva Vega testified regarding local violence in 1999 involving the FARC, the police, and the army. His family received threats and their house was burned down due to their link to his father. In 2000, his family was displaced by the violence, and they relocated to another city, Villavicencio. Around that time, his mother was pressured to allow Silva Vega to join the paramilitary group AUC, to demon- strate the family’s lack of connection to the FARC. The family reported the threat and received some government assistance.1 After completing high school, Silva Vega served in the Colombian military in 2006- 2007, engaging in battles with guerilla groups and paramilitary …

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