The opinion
Case: 18-10303 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 Page: 1 of 6
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 18-10303
Non-Argument Calendar
________________________
Agency No. A206-440-470
EDGAR ALEXANDER PIRELA PIRELA,
Petitioner,
versus
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent.
________________________
Petition for Review of a Decision of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
________________________
(November 6, 2018)
Case: 18-10303 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 Page: 2 of 6
Before WILSON, MARTIN, and HULL, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Edgar Pirela Pirela petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals
(BIA) decision affirming an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of his application for
asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture
(CAT). 1 After careful review, we deny the petition.
I.
Pirela, a citizen of Venezuela, attempted to enter the United States at Miami
International Airport in 2014. Immigration authorities determined he was
inadmissible but referred him for a credible fear interview. An asylum officer
found Pirela demonstrated a credible fear of returning to Venezuela.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put Pirela in removal
proceedings. Pirela applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief.
To qualify for asylum, an applicant must establish “a well-founded fear that his or
her political opinion (or other statutorily listed factor) will cause harm or suffering
that rises to the level of persecution.” Forgue v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 401 F.3d 1282,
1286 (11th Cir. 2005) (quotation marks omitted). To qualify for withholding of
removal, an applicant must show that his life or freedom would be threatened in
1
Pirela did not raise the BIA’s denial of his CAT claim before this Court. We therefore
consider it abandoned on appeal. Sepulveda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 401 F.3d 1226, 1228 n.2 (11th
Cir. 2005) (per curiam).
2
Case: 18-10303 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 Page: 3 of 6
the proposed country of removal because of race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A); 8
C.F.R. § 208.16. To qualify for CAT relief, an applicant must show it is “more
likely than not he . . . would be tortured if removed to the proposed country of
removal.” 8 C.F.R. § 208.16(c)(2).
Pirela claimed persecution on the basis of his political opinion—specifically,
his membership in Un Nuevo Tiempo, a political party that opposes the Venezuelan
government led by President Nicolás Maduro. His asylum application included an
affidavit in which Pirela swore to several incidents he said show past persecution.
He said a group of five men broke into his family’s home, attacked his mother, and
demanded monthly payments; that his mother received a phone call days before the
attack threatening violence if the family did not stop using their home as a political
meeting place; that four of his family members were killed between 2010 and
2011; that he received a threatening phone call from a regime supporter telling him
to stop using the family home as a political meeting place; that he was the victim
of an attempted kidnapping in 2012; that he received numerous threatening calls
telling him to stop supporting Un Nuevo Tiempo before the attempted kidnapping;
and that he received a threatening text in 2013 telling him that he had “an
expiration date just like a bottle of milk.” He also testified to these incidents at a
hearing before an IJ.
3
Case: 18-10303 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 Page: 4 of 6
He introduced objective evidence of his past persecution as well. His
asylum application included documents showing his membership in Un Nuevo
Tiempo and Venezuelan police reports documenting threats and violence against
him and his family. He also provided statements from family members saying they
were fired from their jobs because of their political beliefs.
The IJ found Pirela not credible due to inconsistencies between his
testimony and documentary evidence. She found in the alternative that Pirela had
not demonstrated harm sufficient to establish past persecution or shown a link
between his political activities and the alleged persecution. The BIA affirmed
based on the IJ’s credibility determination. It declined to reach the IJ’s alternate
grounds. Pirela then petitioned for review by this Court.
II.
Pirela argues the BIA erred when it upheld the IJ’s credibility determination
and failed to give reasoned consideration to all the evidence. These arguments fail.
We review the BIA’s decision and the IJ’s decision to the extent the BIA
expressly adopted it. Ayala v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 605 F.3d 941, 947–48 (11th Cir.
2010). We review credibility determinations under the substantial evidence test,
and we cannot reverse a credibility finding unless “the evidence compels a
reasonable factfinder to find otherwise.” Chen v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 463 F.3d 1228,
4
Case: 18-10303 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 Page: 5 of 6
1230–31 (11th Cir. 2006) (per curiam) (quotation marks omitted); see also 8 U.S.C.
§ 1252(b)(4)(B).
Our review leads us to conclude the BIA’s credibility determination was
supported by substantial evidence. In making a credibility finding, the BIA may
base its considerations on inconsistencies between a respondent’s testimony and
other documents in the record. 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(4)(C). After the REAL ID
Act, Pub. L. 109-13 (2005), the BIA may rely on any relevant credibility
consideration without regard for whether such factors go “to the heart of the
applicant’s claim.” Shkambi v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 584 F.3d 1041, 1049 n.7 (11th Cir.
2009) (per curiam) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(4)(C)). The BIA does not have to
accept an explanation for an inconsistency simply because the explanation is
plausible. See id. at 1051. Here, the BIA cited several inconsistencies between
Pirela’s testimony and the police reports in the record. This was a sufficient basis
to uphold the IJ’s credibility determination.
We also conclude the BIA gave reasoned consideration to the evidence. This
Court has sometimes “granted petitions for review, vacated agency decisions, and
remanded for further proceedings when the agency’s decision was so lacking in
reasoned consideration and explanation that meaningful review was impossible.”
Indrawati v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 779 F.3d 1284, 1302 (11th Cir. 2015). On this issue,
our review requires that “we look only to ensure that the IJ and the BIA considered
5
Case: 18-10303 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 Page: 6 of 6
the issues raised and announced their decision in terms sufficient to enable
review.” Id. The BIA’s decision meets this standard. The BIA’s opinion clearly
upheld the IJ’s credibility determination and gave reasons for doing so. It also
expressly agreed with the IJ’s ruling that Pirela’s objective evidence was
insufficient to establish fear of persecution. The IJ, for her part, considered Pirela’s
objective evidence of persecution and gave clear reasons for rejecting it.
Finally, we perceive no error in the BIA’s decision not to review all the
inconsistencies the IJ identified. The BIA is not required to “address specifically
. . . each piece of evidence the petitioner presented” so long as it “consider[s] the
issues raised and announce[s] [its] decision in terms sufficient to enable a
reviewing court to perceive that [the BIA] ha[s] heard and thought and not merely
reacted.” Ayala, 605 F.3d at 948 (quotation marks omitted). The BIA’s opinion
meets that standard.
For these reasons, we DENY the petition for review.
6