Baltti v. Sessions

The petition for rehearing by panel was granted and the previous opinion and judgment on July 10, 2017 was vacated.The Eighth Circuit denied a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Petitioner sought to narrow his defined social group, but the court lacked jurisdiction to consider the argument because it had not been raised before. The court held that the BIA's finding that petitioner did not suffer past persecution based on his political opinion was supported by substantial evidence. In this case, there was no nexus between any possible persecution and his political opinion or any other statutorily protected ground. Furthermore, while petitioner's fear of persecution may be genuine, he failed to point to specific facts indicating this fear was more than speculation of the possibility of future harm. View "Baltti v. Sessions" on Justia Law