Jose Darwin Quintanilla v. MERRICK GARLAND, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JOSE DARWIN QUINTANILLA,
Petitioner,
v.
MERRICK GARLAND, Attorney General
Respondent.
No. 20-71384
Agency No. 206-402-118
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted April 13, 2021**
Seattle, Washington
Before: O’SCANNLAIN and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges, and FITZWATER,***
District Judge.
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
*** The Honorable Sidney A. Fitzwater, United States District Judge for
the Northern District of Texas, sitting by designation.
FILED
APR 21 2021
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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Jose Darwin Quintanilla (“Quintanilla”), a native and citizen of El Salvador,
petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of his
application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture
(“CAT”).1 We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 and deny the petition.
1. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that
Quintanilla did not establish a reasonable likelihood of torture if removed to El
Salvador. See Maldonado v. Lynch, 786 F.3d 1155, 1164 (9th Cir. 2015). The
alleged reasons for the beatings Quintanilla suffered in his youth—his refusal to
join a gang and suspicion that he was a gang member—do not suggest that his
prior assailants have any motive to torture him if he returns to El Salvador,
especially considering that Quintanilla lived with his father unharmed for some
time. The BIA also reasonably found Quintanilla can relocate to avoid harm by the
gangs and that the country conditions do not compel the conclusion that
Quintanilla would be tortured for refusing to join the gangs and living in El
Salvador. See 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c)(3)
2. Substantial evidence also supports the BIA’s determination that
Quintanilla did not establish that the police would acquiesce to any inflicted torture
by gang members. See Garcia-Milian v. Holder, 755 F.3d 1026, 1034-35 (9th Cir.
1 Because the parties are familiar with the facts, we restate only those necessary to
explain our decision.

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2014). The police investigated the murder by gang members of Quintanilla’s uncle
and, generally, police and the Salvadoran government are attempting to control the
criminal gangs in El Salvador. Accordingly, Quintanilla has not carried his burden
of showing that the government would torture him or acquiesce in his torture.
PETITION DENIED.

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