Opinions of the United
2008 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
3-20-2008
Li v. Atty Gen USA
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 06-3689
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"Li v. Atty Gen USA" (2008). 2008 Decisions. Paper 1412.
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 06-3689
YAN GANG LI,
Petitioner
v.
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES,
Respondent
On Petition for Review of an Order of
The Board of Immigration Appeals
Immigration Judge: Honorable Miriam K. Mills
(No. A79-424-762)
Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
February 5, 2008
Before: MCKEE and AMBRO, Circuit Judges,
and IRENAS,* District Judge
(Opinion filed March 20, 2008)
OPINION
AMBRO, Circuit Judge
*
Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior District Judge for the District of New Jersey,
sitting by designation.
Yan Gang Li seeks asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the
Convention Against Torture because he alleges that, if returned to China, he will face
persecution and torture on account of his parents’ practice of Falun Gong.1 For the
reasons below, we deny his petition for review of an adverse ruling of the Board of
Immigration Appeals (“BIA”).
Li alleges more specifically that the Chinese authorities arrested his parents for
practicing Falun Gong. As a result of this arrest, he claims that he fears he will meet a
similar fate if returned to China. Li himself has never practiced Falun Gong. The
Chinese authorities have never arrested or harmed him. At one time they did threaten to
arrest him if he began to practice Falun Gong. Li does not allege, however, that he plans
to do so. Moreover, the record contains no indication that the Chinese authorities punish
relatives of Falun Gong followers.
The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied Li’s applications for relief for two reasons.
First, she found Li not to be credible. Second, she determined that even if Li were
credible, he has not shown past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution,
nor has he shown that he would likely be tortured if returned to China. The BIA adopted
and affirmed the Immigration Judge’s decision, and Li petitions for review.
We deny the petition for review because, even assuming Li is credible, substantial
1
He also alleges that he will be persecuted because he departed China illegally.
Because he did not raise this issue before the Board of Immigration Appeals, however, we
lack jurisdiction to consider it. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(d)(1).
2
evidence supports the IJ’s and the BIA’s conclusions that he is not entitled to relief. First,
substantial evidence supports their conclusion that Li is not eligible for asylum. Although
an applicant for asylum need not show it is more likely than not that he will be
persecuted, he must establish a well-founded fear, which requires a showing of past
persecution or a reasonable possibility of future persecution. Shardar v. Attorney Gen. of
the U.S., 503 F.3d 308, 313 (3d Cir. 2007). Li has shown neither, given that he has no
plans to practice Falun Gong and the record provides no indication that his mere status as
a relative of a practitioner will subject him to persecution. This absence of evidence
precludes not only his claim for asylum, but also his claim for withholding of removal.
See Zubeda v. Ashcroft, 333 F.3d 463, 469–70 (3d Cir. 2003) (“[I]f an alien fails to
establish the well-founded fear of persecution required for a grant of asylum, he or she
will, by definition, have failed to establish the clear probability of persecution required
for withholding of deportation.”).
Finally, because Li has not shown a likelihood of adverse action against him by or
through the acquiescence of the Chinese government, substantial evidence supports the
IJ’s and the BIA’s conclusions that he is not entitled to relief under the Convention
Against Torture. See id. at 471 (relief under the Convention requires showing that it is
more likely than not that the alien will be tortured if removed).
Accordingly, we deny the petition for review.
3