Fermin Pablo-Diaz v. Todd Blanche

── Fermin Pablo-Diaz v. Todd Blanche ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0169n.06 No. 25-3483 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Apr 15, 2026 KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) FERMIN PABLO-DIAZ, ) Petitioner, ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW ) FROM THE BOARD OF v. ) IMMIGRATION APPEALS ) TODD W. BLANCHE, Acting U.S. Attorney ) General, OPINION ) Respondent. ) ) Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; CLAY and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. CLAY, Circuit Judge. Petitioner Fermin Pablo-Diaz filed an application for withholding of removal, 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A), and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), 8 C.F.R. 208.16(c). An immigration judge (“IJ”) denied Petitioner’s application and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed. Petitioner now petitions for review of the BIA’s order. For the reasons set forth below, we DENY the petition for review. I. BACKGROUND Petitioner Fermin Pablo-Diaz is a citizen of Mexico who entered the United States without admission when he was fifteen years old. Following arrests for driving without a license and driving under the influence, Petitioner was served with a notice to appear (NTA) on October 25, 2012. On May 12, 2015, Petitioner submitted his application for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A) and protection under the CAT. No. 25-3483, Pablo-Diaz v. Blanche After several continuances, Petitioner appeared before an IJ to explain the bases for his application. On direct examination, Petitioner testified how his cousin, Martin Santos, was violently beaten by gangs after he was deported to Mexico in 2008. Those gangs perceived Mr. Santos to have “a lot of money” or that Mr. Santos “believe[d] that [he] [was] better than them” because he had just returned from the United States. AR at 140. Mr. Santos was hospitalized as a result of this attack. Additionally, another of Petitioner’s cousins committed suicide following his deportation to Mexico. Petitioner noted how that cousin was “afraid to go back” to Mexico, wanted to stay with his family and wife in the United States, and suffered from depression. From these experiences, Petitioner expressed fear that local gangs would likewise perceive him to be wealthy or obstinate by virtue of his time in the United States and would thus beat him and his children. Petitioner did not believe that anywhere in Mexico would be safe for him or his family because he viewed corruption, crime, and gangs to be prevalent throughout the entire country. Petitioner could not name a particular criminal organization or group that would harm him or his family, just that “any . . . criminal organization or group[,] . . . [or] drug addict” that perceived Petitioner in the way that he feared could harm him and his family. On cross examination, the government’s attorney questioned Petitioner about his cousin, Eric. Petitioner initially testified that this cousin also had a negative encounter with gangs but was still alive. The government’s attorney then referred to a letter of support f