Decision date: 2018-11-29
Holding that, where the Immigration Judge made an explicit finding that the persecutor's motive was not on account of a protected ground, the issue of persecutor’s motive is a factual finding that the BIA reviews for clear error that does not authorize de novo review at the circuit court. Declining to reach whether Matter of C-T-L-, 25 I&N Dec. 341 (BIA 2010) (extending the “one central reason” standard for asylum to withholding of removal) is legally flawed because the argument was foreclosed by the Immigration Judge's factual finding on the persecutor's motive. Upholding denial of relief under the Convention against Torture because the BIA applied the correct clear error standard of review to the likelihood of torture, a fact-based determination, and the BIA's determination was supported by substantial evidence.
Publication Status: Unpublished
Case judge: Gibney*, Keenan, King
Decision: Hercules-Torres v. Whitaker, 756 F. App'x 233 (4th Cir. 2018) (No. 17-2071)