Vasquez-Barrera v. Blanche

── Vasquez-Barrera v. Blanche ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: June 10, 2026 Category: Immigration Case: 25-60335 Document: 99-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals ____________ Fifth Circuit FILED No. 25-60335 June 10, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Jose Obed Vasquez-Barrera, Petitioner, versus Todd Wallace Blanche, Acting U.S. Attorney General, Respondent. ______________________________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Agency No. A206 635 345 ______________________________ Before Stewart, Engelhardt, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Jose Obed Vasquez-Barrera (“Vasquez”) petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the denial by an immigration judge (“IJ”) of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), which resulted in a final order of removal. Vasquez is a bisexual Salvadoran man who suffered abuse by police officers who repeatedly brutalized him _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-60335 Document: 99-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 No. 25-60335 while yelling homophobic slurs. Vasquez sought asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief in the United States, claiming that he would be detained and tortured upon removal. The Board found that commission of a serious nonpolitical crime barred him from receiving asylum and withholding of removal. The Board also found that Vasquez did not qualify for CAT relief because he had not demonstrated a likelihood of torture upon repatriation. While we agree with the Board’s decision to deny Vasquez asylum and withholding of removal, we disagree with the basis of the Board’s refusal to grant CAT relief. Accordingly, Vasquez’s petition for review is DENIED in part and GRANTED in part, and the matter is REMANDED to the BIA for further consideration in accordance with the following opinion. I Vasquez entered the United States in May of 2022, after fleeing El Salvador in April due to ongoing abuse by Salvadoran authorities and the likelihood of future abuse due to his sexual orientation and prior criminal history. In January 2023, the Department of Homeland Security served Vasquez a notice to appear and charged him with removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as a noncitizen present in the United States without admission or parole. In February 2023, Vasquez, with the assistance of counsel, admitted the factual allegations and conceded the charge of removability. Vasquez had multiple hearings before an IJ and appealed to the BIA, the proceedings of which are detailed below in Section II. Vasquez was removed to El Salvador in June of 2025, and his family contends that he has been imprisoned since his return. Vasquez is a bisexual man who was abused by his father from a young age due to his sexual orientation. More recently, he has suffered abuse by Salvadoran police. Before Vasquez fled to the United States, he operat