Jean Calixte v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Jean Raymond Calixte, a native and citizen of Haiti, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming an immigration judge’s (IJ) denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). He also claims that the IJ erred by not considering whether he was eligible for a humanitarian grant of asylum. Where, as here, the BIA affirms an IJ’s decision without opinion, the IJ’s decision becomes the final agency action and is reviewed for substantial evidence. Singh v. Holder, 643 F.3d 1178, 1180 (9th Cir.2011).

The IJ denied Calixte’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal because he concluded Calixte failed to show an objectively reasonable fear of persecution. The IJ properly denied Calixte’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal because even if Calixte was able to establish an objectively reasonable fear of persecution, such a finding would be rebutted by changed country conditions. Lal v. INS, 255 F.3d 998, 1002 (9th Cir.2001) (inner citations omitted). The IJ relied on information provided by the Department of State’s country conditions…