Martinez

In this case, a removed alien challenges a reinstated removal order by claiming that he has. a reasonable fear of being persecuted in his home country of El Salvador. An asylum officer interviewed the alien and issued a negative reasonable fear determination, and an immigration judge concurred with that finding. The alien then appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which relied on a purported lack of jurisdiction to dismiss the appeal. Petitioner argues that the evidence before the asylum officer, when properly considered, establishes a reasonable fear of torture. We remand for further consideration.

I.

A.

Petitioner Osmani Valencia Martinez (Martinez) was born in El Salvador. 1 When *657 Martinez was about eighteen years old, the gang La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) began a sustained recruiting effort that lasted several years and included threats of harm or death to Martinez and his family. Martinez believed he could not go to the local police for protection, because he perceived that the police and MS-13 were intertwined. As such, he fled to the United States in 2001. Shortly after arriving in San Diego, California, Martinez was arrested and returned to El…