Torres-Rincon
Torres-Rincon v. Gonzales
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Cesar Augusto Torres-Rincon, his wife and son, all natives and citizens of Peru, *857 petition for review of the Board’s summary affirmance of an IJ decision denying then-application for asylum and withholding of removal.
We uphold the IJ’s decision that Torres did not establish past persecution. Although death threats may constitute past persecution, Garrovillas v. INS, 156 F.3d 1010, 1016 (9th Cir.1998), when not combined with “confrontation or other mistreatment ... [they] constitute past persecution in only a small category of cases, and only when the threats are so menacing as to cause significant actual suffering or harm.” Lim v. INS, 224 F.3d 929, 936 (9th Cir.2000) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, Torres’ death threats, without more, do not compel a reversal of the IJ’s decision. Gormley v. Ashcroft, 364 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir.2004).
Torres argues that substantial evidence does not support the IJ’s finding that he lacked a well-founded fear of future persecution. The IJ determined that when Torres “fled the country, he had a well-founded fear of persecution on account of his political opinion.” Nonetheless, the IJ concluded that…
Dissenting Opinion
Bybee, J.
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The IJ specifically found that Torres had an objective, well-founded fear of persecution in 1989 when he left Peru and that he now does not. But the IJ failed to find any change in conditions in Peru that should obviate Torres’ fear. Thus, we should remand for a determination of whether country conditions have changed such that Torres would not suffer harm upon return to Peru.
As the majority points out, the IJ relied on three reasons why Torres’ fear was no longer objectively reasonable: (1) Torres had been long absent from Peru; (2) Torres never actually held the office of mayor; and (3) his mother, who did hold that office, was not harmed. These are indisputable facts, but as reasons they are pure speculation. First, the mere passage of time, standing alone, is not a sufficient basis to discount a well-founded fear. Salazar-Paucar v. INS, 281 F.3d 1069, 1077 (9th Cir.2002). If the IJ believes that country conditions have improved since Torres left in 1989, then she must explain herself. As to the second point, the record contradicts the IJ’s finding. As the IJ acknowledged, there is evidence that the Shining Path continues to take…