NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT AUG 27 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
NADER BEN GHALBA, No. 12-72383
Petitioner, Agency No. A077-304-221
v.
MEMORANDUM*
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Argued and Submitted August 5, 2014**
Pasadena, California
Before: REINHARDT, WARDLAW, and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.
Nader Ben Ghalba (“Ben Ghalba”), a native and citizen of Tunisia, petitions
for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of his applications
for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against
Torture (“CAT”). Because we lack jurisdiction to review his asylum claim and he
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
has not demonstrated a clear probability of either persecution or torture, we dismiss
Ben Ghalba’s petition in part and deny his petition in part.
The BIA’s conclusion that Ben Ghalba’s untimely asylum application was
not filed within a “reasonable period” after “changed circumstances” relied on
factual determinations that Ben Ghalba now disputes. For instance, he claims that
his religious transformation crossed the threshold necessary to constitute “changed
circumstances” in the Spring of 2003. The BIA, however, concluded that Ben
Ghalba had “already significantly increased the frequency of his mosque
attendance in 2001 and 2002.” Although “religious transformation” and mosque
attendance are different concepts, Ben Ghalba’s argument throughout these
proceedings has been that his outward displays of religious devotion (i.e., mosque
attendance and a conspicuous beard) are what will subject him to persecution.
Thus, this factual dispute is not merely an inconsistency. It is a fundamental
factual disagreement concerning when Ben Ghalba experienced the changed
circumstances that he argues renders his asylum application timely filed. Because
we have jurisdiction over the “changed circumstances” question only if Ben
Ghalba’s “petition is a question of the application of a statutory standard to
undisputed facts,” Ramadan v. Gonzales, 479 F.3d 646, 650 (9th Cir. 2007) (per
curiam) (emphasis added), we lack jurisdiction to review the BIA’s decision
2
regarding the one-year ban, see Vahora v. Holder, 641 F.3d 1038, 1042 (9th Cir.
2011) (concluding that we have jurisdiction if the facts underlying a claim of
changed circumstances are not in dispute).
Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s denial of Ben Ghalba’s withholding
of removal claim. While country reports state that men in Tunisia who are
perceived as Islamists have been subject to police harassment or detention, the
severity of the reported harm does not rise to the level of persecution. See
Nagoulko v. INS, 333 F.3d 1012, 1016 (9th Cir. 2003) (holding that persecution is
“an extreme concept that does not include every sort of treatment our society
regards as offensive” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)); Fisher v.
INS, 79 F.3d 955, 962 (9th Cir. 1996) (en banc) (holding that possible detention,
arrest, or imprisonment of applicant for not following Iran’s dress code was
common harassment, not persecution). Furthermore, Ben Ghalba has not
demonstrated a clear probability that he personally will be persecuted if returned to
Tunisia. See Ramadan, 479 F.3d at 658. Although he wears a beard and is
religiously devout, nothing in the record compels us to conclude that the Tunisian
3
government will label Ben Ghalba an Islamist or terrorist, arrest him, and persecute
him.1
Substantial evidence also supports the BIA’s denial of Ben Ghalba’s CAT
claim. Because “the BIA incorporate[d] the IJ’s reasons as its own, we treat the
IJ’s reasons as the BIA’s.” He v. Ashcroft, 328 F.3d 593, 595-96 (9th Cir. 2003).
While country reports state that “security forces tortured detainees to elicit
confessions and discourage resistance,” and that “[p]olitical prisoners, Islamists,
and persons detained on terrorism-related charges allegedly received harsher
treatment than other prisoners,” the IJ concluded that Ben Ghalba’s claim was
“speculative at best.” We agree. As with his withholding of removal claim, the
record does not compel us to conclude that it is more likely than not that Ben
Ghalba will be identified as a terrorist or an Islamist by the Tunisian government.
1
Furthermore, the collapse of former Tunisian President Ben Ali’s
government in January 2011 has likely further decreased the likelihood that Ben
Ghalba will face persecution or torture. See U.S. Dep’t of State, Tunisia: Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices (2011), available at
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/186663.pdf (explaining that the
revolution has led to “an unprecedented opening for respect for human rights in the
country.”). Generally, our review is limited to the administrative record, but we
may review out-of-record State Department reports not available at the time the
BIA made its decision. See Gafoor v. INS, 231 F.3d 645, 655-56 (9th Cir. 2000),
superceded by statute on other grounds, REAL ID Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-
13, div. B, § 101(h)(2), 119 Stat. 231, 305 (2005), as stated in Parussimova v.
Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir. 2009).
4
See Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d 1049, 1067-68 (9th Cir. 2009). While the Los
Angeles Times article mentions Ben Ghalba’s arrest for selling counterfeit goods
in the context of a terrorism investigation in Los Angeles, it does not identify him
as a terrorist and he has never labeled himself as such. Thus, substantial evidence
supports the BIA’s determination that Ben Ghalba failed to establish eligibility for
CAT relief. See 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c).
PETITION DISMISSED IN PART; DENIED IN PART.
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FILED
Ghalba v. Holder, No. 12-72383 AUG 27 2014
REINHARDT, Circuit Judge, concurring: MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
I concur in the holding of the disposition with respect to petitioner’s application for
withholding of removal and for relief under the Convention Against Torture, but I
would deny rather than dismiss his application for asylum.
1