Case Explained: DURON GONZALEZ V. BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-06-26 The ninth-circuit granted the petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order denying relief under the Convention Against Torture. The court held that the Immigration Judge abused his discretion by refusing to consider country conditions evidence submitted after an evidentiary deadline, as the refusal was based on the petitioner’s failure to correct an oversight during the hearing rather than the deadline itself, and such a refusal is arbitrary when applied to a pro se litigant. Additionally, the court found that both the Immigration Judge and the Board committed legal error by engaging in impermissible appellate fact-finding regarding the particularized risk of torture and by failing to consider the aggregate risk of torture from all possible sources, including the distinct risk of being mistaken for a rival by cartel members. The practical consequence is that the case is remanded with instructions for the Board to reconsider the Torture Convention claim in light of the previously excluded evidence and the full scope of potential risks. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.