Hazrat Afzal v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Hazrat Afzal, a native and citizen of Pakistan, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision finding that he was convicted of a particularly serious crime and was therefore ineligible for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231 (b)(3)(B)(ii), and denying deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction to review legal or constitutional claims, including whether the BIA “failed to consider the appropriate factors or relied on improper evidence in making the ‘particularly serious crime’ determination.” Anaya-Ortiz v. Holder, 594 F.3d 673, 676 (9th Cir.2010) (internal citations omitted); see also 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(D). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a) to review the denial of CAT deferral, and we review for substantial evidence. See Delgado v. Holder, 648 F.3d 1095, 1108 (9th Cir.2011) (en banc).

We have held that “in considering whether the BIA has applied the correct legal standard for determining whether a particularly serious crime has been committed, we must refer to the Frentescu factors as subsequently modified by the BIA.” Anaya-Ortiz, 594 F.3d at 679 . In re Frentescu,…