The Fifth Circuit has denied a petition for review filed by a Salvadoran man whose CAT claim was rejected after three rounds of agency proceedings due to persistent credibility problems, while separately clarifying the circuit's jurisdiction to review an immigration judge's denial of a continuance to submit late evidence.
The Court held that none of the INA's jurisdiction-stripping provisions bar review of continuance denials in CAT cases, and that the agency did not abuse its discretion here given the petitioner's ample earlier opportunities to submit evidence. On the merits, the Court held substantial evidence supported the adverse credibility finding given significant inconsistencies about the core events underlying his torture claim, and that generalized country-conditions evidence about gang violence in El Salvador could not compel a contrary finding of likely torture.
The full text of Lopez-Barrera v. Blanche can be found here: https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/25/25-60302-CV0.pdf