Saul Martinez v. Janet Napolitano

Saul Martinez, a citizen of Guatemala, filed an action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging that the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision to deny his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) was arbitrary and capricious and therefore in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. We affirm.

I.Background and Procedural History

The following facts are taken from Martinez’s complaint. Knievel v. ESPN, 393 F.3d 1068, 1072 (9th Cir.2005) (in reviewing an order granting a motion to dismiss, we accept “all factual allegations in the complaint as true”). In 1992, Martinez filed a false application for asylum and withholding of removal based on his alleged political opinion. An asylum officer denied this application. In 1996, at a merits hearing before an Immigration Judge (“IJ”), Martinez admitted that the initial application was false, but submitted a new application for asylum and withholding of removal based on his sexual orientation. The IJ found that Martinez lacked credibility due to…