Roberto Blandino-Medina v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Roberto Xavier Blandino-Medina, a Nicaraguan citizen, seeks review of two decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”): (1) a decision reversing an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) grant of withholding of removal pursuant to the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), and (2) a decision affirming the IJ’s finding that Blandi-no’s conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, in violation of California Penal Code § 288(a), is a particularly serious crime, rendering him statutorily ineligible for withholding of removal.

We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(1). We affirm the BIA’s decision concerning withholding of removal pursuant to the CAT, but vacate its decision holding that Blandino’s conviction under Section 288(a) is a particularly serious crime per se, and remand to the BIA to consider the circumstances of the offense.

I. Facts and Procedural Background

Blandino is a Nicaraguan citizen, born in 1982. Several members of Blandino’s family were affiliated with the Somoza regime, and after the Sandinistas took power, his family was persecuted. Blandino’s father fled to the United States in 1986 and was later granted political…