764 Fed.Appx. 235 (3rd Cir. 2019), 17-3529, Augustus v. Attorney General of United States

• Citation: 764 Fed.Appx. 235
• Opinion Judge: PER CURIAM
• Party Name: Junior J. AUGUSTUS, a/k/a James Augustus, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF the UNITED STATES of America, Respondent
• Attorney: Junior J. Augustus, Pro Se David Schor, Esq., Jeff Sessions, Esq., United States Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, Washington, DC, for Respondent
• Judge Panel: Before: GREENAWAY, JR., RESTREPO and FUENTES, Circuit Judges
• Case Date: April 09, 2019
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals, U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

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764 Fed.Appx. 235 (3rd Cir. 2019)

Junior J. AUGUSTUS, a/k/a James Augustus, Petitioner

v.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF the UNITED STATES of America, Respondent

No. 17-3529

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit

April 9, 2019

NOT PRECEDENTIAL

Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) February 19, 2019

Editorial Note:

This opinion is not regarded as Precedents which bind the court under Third Circuit Internal Operating Procedure Rule 5.7. (See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure Rule 32.1)

On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. AXXX-XX0-270), Immigration Judge: Honorable Mirlande Tadal

Junior J. Augustus, Pro Se

David Schor, Esq., Jeff Sessions, Esq., United States Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, Washington, DC, for Respondent

Before: GREENAWAY, JR., RESTREPO and FUENTES, Circuit Judges

OPINION^[*]

PER CURIAM

Junior J. Augustus is a citizen of Grenada who was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1985. In January 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged him with removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) (aggravated felony) and (a)(2)(B)(i) (controlled substance offense) based on his two controlled-substance convictions under New Jersey law. Augustus conceded the removal charges against him but sought deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Following a hearing, an Immigration Judge (IJ) concluded that Augustus had failed to demonstrate that it was more likely than not that he would be tortured if forced to return to Grenada and denied relief. Augustus appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), but, by order dated June 19, 2017, the BIA dismissed the appeal. Augustus then moved the BIA for reconsideration. He asked the Board to revisit his CAT claim and also to take his mental and physical health into account before sending him back to Grenada. The BIA denied the motion on October 4, 2017. On October 10, 2017, Augustus filed this petition for review.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a). Our jurisdiction is limited to constitutional claims and questions of law because Augustus was convicted of an aggravated felony. See 8 U.S.C. § § 1252(a)(2)(C), (D); Desai v. Att’y Gen., 695 F.3d 267, 269 (3d Cir. 2012). Our jurisdiction

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is also limited to review of the BIAs denial of the...