Julio Olivar v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Julio Cesar Olivar seeks deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. The IJ granted his petition, but the BIA sustained the Department of Homeland Security’s appeal of the IJ’s ruling. We grant Olivar’s petition for review and remand for further proceedings.

1. The IJ found that, if removed to Mexico, Olivar was more likely than not to be institutionalized against his will because of his mental illnesses. The BIA failed to review that factual finding under the clearly erroneous standard of review. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1 (d)(3)®; Ridore v. Holder, 696 F.3d 907, 914-16 (9th Cir.2012).

The IJ found that any number of likely scenarios could have resulted in Olivar being institutionalized, including Olivar being homeless, engaging in criminal behavior, and relying on government services or emergency medical care. But the BIA required Olivar to establish that a “hypothetical chain of events” was likely to occur, including that Olivar would be unable to find employment, obtain support from his family, and afford medication. In doing so, the BIA impermissibly “substituted its own reading of the evidence for that of the IJ without applying the…