FILED February 1, 2021 No. 18-60459 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Edgar Tibakweitira,

Petitioner,

versus Robert M. Wilkinson, Acting U.S. Attorney General,

Respondent.

Petitions for Review of Orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A206 755 696

Before Haynes, Duncan, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Kurt D. Engelhardt, Circuit Judge: Edgar Tibakweitira, a native and citizen of Tanzania, petitions for review of an order issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). He separately petitions for review of the BIA’s order denying his motion to reconsider and reopen and denying his request for review of that motion by a three-member panel. We DISMISS IN PART and DENY IN PART the petitions for review. No. 18-60459

I. Tibakweitira contends that after serving one year in the Tanzanian military, he was recruited to the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (“TISS”), where he allegedly received training to suppress political opponents of the Tanzanian government through violent means. Tibakweitira reportedly abandoned his TISS position and fled to the United States on a tourist visa on June 26, 1992. He overstayed his visa and remained in the United States, attending college and business school, settling in Washington, D.C., and establishing a real estate business that catered heavily to the local Tanzanian community. On June 10, 2013, he was indicted in the United States District Court of Maryland based on his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. On March 31, 2015, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 57 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay nearly $2.5 million in restitution. On June 30, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security issued Tibakweitira a removal order, finding that he was removable based on his commission of an aggravated felony (conspiracy to commit wire fraud) under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). Tibakweitira subsequently applied for withholding of removal and CAT protection. After a hearing, the IJ issued a written decision on December 22, 2017, denying his application and ordering his removal to Tanzania. Tibakweitira appealed to the BIA, which affirmed the IJ’s decision and dismissed the appeal on June 7, 2018. Tibakweitira filed a motion with the BIA requesting reconsideration of the dismissal of his appeal, reopening of his removal proceedings, and review of his motion by a three-member panel. A single BIA member denied the motion on September 6, 2018. Tibakweitira timely petitioned for review of the BIA’s dismissal of his appeal and its denial of his motion. He argues that (1) the IJ and BIA erred in

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finding that his conspiracy to commit wire fraud offense was a “particularly serious crime” rendering him statutorily ineligible for withholding of removal; (2) the IJ and BIA erred in denying CAT relief; (3) the BIA erred in denying his motion to reopen; (4) his due process rights and the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime were violated by the IJ and/or through his removal order; (5) the BIA erred in denying review of his motion to reconsider and reopen by a three-member pane