Rene Campos-Tiznado v. Merrick Garland


FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 23 2021 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT RENE ARMANDO CAMPOS-TIZNADO No. 20-72742 Petitioner, Agency No. 208-278-617 v. MEMORANDUM* MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted November 16, 2021** Pasadena, California Before: WARDLAW, PARKER,*** and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** The Honorable Barrington D. Parker, Jr., United States Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting by designation. 1 Petitioner Rene Armando Campos-Tiznado (“Campos-Tiznado”), a native and citizen of El Salvador, seeks review of an August 17, 2020 Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) order dismissing an appeal of an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1), and we deny the petition. We review only the reasons the BIA gave in support of its decision, and we review those reasons for “substantial evidence.” Arrey v. Barr, 916 F.3d 1149, 1157 (9th Cir. 2019); Mairena v. Barr, 917 F.3d 1119, 1123 (9th Cir. 2019). Where, as here, the BIA expressly adopts the IJ’s decision in its entirety and cites Matter of Burbano, 20 I&N Dec. 872, 874 (BIA 1994), the BIA formally adopts the IJ’s decision in its entirety. See Kwong v. Holder, 671 F.3d 872, 876 (9th Cir. 2011); Abebe v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 1037, 1040 (9th Cir. 2005). So, “we review the IJ’s order as if it were the BIA’s.” Kwong, 671 F.3d at 876. Campos-Tiznado sought relief based on an alleged series of three attacks in 2015 by members of the FMLN political group while he was working for the ARENA political group. He claimed that the last attack led to his hospitalization, and that his assailants killed his sister’s brother-in-law after Campos-Tiznado left for the United States. 2 Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that Campos-Tiznado is not eligible for asylum or withholding of removal. The BIA affirmed the IJ’s initial denial of Campos-Tiznado’s application based on an adverse credibility finding due to material inconsistencies in his testimony as well as his demeanor. Campos- Tiznado has not identified any evidence that compels a contrary conclusion. Inconsistencies between an applicant’s statements and other evidence in the record are among the factors relevant to “the totality of the circumstances” analysis of the applicant’s credibility. Iman v. Barr, 972 F.3d 1058, 1064–65 (9th Cir. 2020) (some citations omitted) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii)). In this case, the IJ found three material discrepancies in Campos-Tiznado’s testimony regarding: i) the number of assailants; ii) the duration of his hospital stay following the final attack; and iii) the failure …

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