Luis Grijalva Martinez v. Attorney General United States


PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ______________ No. 19-1740 ______________ LUIS FERNANDO GRIJALVA MARTINEZ, a/k/a Luis Grijalva, a/k/a Luis Martinez, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent ______________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (No. A204-865-313) ______________ Argued September 30, 2020 ______________ Before: SHWARTZ, PHIPPS, and FISHER, Circuit Judges. (Filed: October 21, 2020) ______________ OPINION ______________ Susan G. Roy [ARGUED] Law Office of Susan G. Roy Suite 101 163 Cranbury Road Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 Counsel for Petitioner Dana M. Camilleri [ARGUED] United States Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation P.O. Box 878 Washington, DC 20044 Counsel for Respondent SHWARTZ, Circuit Judge. Luis Fernando Grijalva Martinez petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) (1) holding that Grijalva Martinez was removable as an alien convicted of both an aggravated felony and a crime involving moral turpitude (“CIMT”), and (2) finding him ineligible for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Because Grijalva Martinez’s state conviction for criminal sexual contact constitutes both a CIMT and an aggravated felony, and because he is not entitled to withholding of removal or CAT relief, we will deny the petition for review. 2 I Grijalva Martinez is a citizen of Guatemala. In November 2013, his status was adjusted from asylee to lawful permanent resident. In May 2016, he was convicted in the New Jersey Superior Court of criminal sexual contact, in violation of N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:14-3(b), and of endangering the welfare of children, in violation of N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:24-4(a)(1). The Government subsequently commenced removal proceedings against Grijalva Martinez, alleging that he was removable as an alien convicted of a CIMT, an aggravated felony, and a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment. In proceedings before an Immigration Judge (“IJ”), Grijalva Martinez denied that the conviction rendered him removable, and applied for withholding of removal and CAT protection. With respect to his applications for relief, Grijalva Martinez asserted that he feared violence at the hands of gang members, including his former stepfather. The IJ sustained the removability charges, finding that Grijalva Martinez’s conviction for criminal sexual contact was both a CIMT under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) and an aggravated felony, namely, sexual abuse of a minor, under § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). The IJ also found that Grijalva Martinez was ineligible for withholding of removal because he was convicted for criminal sexual contact, a particularly serious crime under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(B)(ii) and that Grijalva Martinez was ineligible for CAT relief because he had not established that he would be subject to torture if removed to Guatemala. Grijalva Martinez appealed to the BIA, which dismissed the appeal. The BIA held that Grijalva Martinez was 3 removable because he had been convicted of both a CIMT and an aggravated felony. 1 The BIA also adopted the IJ’s findings and conclusions denying Grijalva Martinez’s requests for withholding of removal and ...

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