Jose Soto-Montano v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Jose Soto-Montano, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from, an immigration judge’s (“U”) decision denying his application for protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings, Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir. 2008), and we deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s denial of CAT protection because Soto-Montano failed to establish it is more likely than not he would be tortured if returned to Mexico. See Blandino-Medina v. Holder, 712 F.3d 1338, 1348 (9th Cir. 2013) (affirming denial of CAT where “rather than presenting hard evidence of a probability” of torture, petitioner “merely presented a series of worst-case scenarios.”). Soto-Montano’s contention that the agency violated his due process rights is unexhausted so we lack jurisdiction over this claim, see Barron v. Ashcroft, 358 F.3d 674, 678 (9th Cir. 2004), and his contentions that the IJ ignored evidence or erred in her analysis are…