Santos Sandoval v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Santos Sandoval, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of a final order of removal from the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The BIA dismissed Sandoval’s appeal of an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), and voluntary departure. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We grant the petition as to voluntary departure; we dismiss in part and deny in part the petition as to asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under CAT.

1. Sandoval first argues that the IJ erred in dismissing his asylum claim as untimely under 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (a)(2)(B) because the IJ failed to make express factual findings regarding Sandoval’s last date of entry. The IJ did not err because the statute does not require the IJ to make express findings, see id., and Sandoval has not offered an alternate date of entry that would fall within the one-year bar. Cf. Matter of F-P-R-, 24 I. & N. Dec. 681, 684-85 (B.I.A. 2008) (holding that the IJ erred in calculating the one-year bar from the alien’s 1989 date of arrival when record evidence showed that…