The Seventh Circuit has again remanded a request for protection under the Convention Against Torture filed by a former MS-13 gang member. The court identified a number of places in which the court cherrypicked evidence, failing to acknowledge the documents that corroborated the petitioner’s testimony. In addition, the court admonished the agency for discrediting written statements made by the applicant’s relatives, who the Immigration Judge identified as “interested parties.” While the court acknowledged that an applicant’s family members would be interested in the outcome of a case, they would also be the people most likely to have information relevant to the applicant’s claim.
The full text of Romero Arrazabal v. Barr can be found here: