Case Explained: LINA GOMEZ PARRA V. TODD BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-10

The Ninth Circuit denied Lina Maria Gomez Parra’s petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision that affirmed an immigration judge’s denial of her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court held that the immigration judge did not deprive the petitioner of her right to counsel because, despite revoking her initial waiver, she was provided reasonable time to locate counsel and prepare her case, having been given eight months to secure representation and multiple continuances. Regarding the merits of her claims, the court found that Gomez Parra forfeited her asylum and withholding of removal arguments by failing to specifically address the dispositive issue of whether the Colombian government was unable or unwilling to protect her from persecution in her briefs. Furthermore, the court determined that substantial evidence supported the agency’s denial of CAT relief, as the petitioner’s reliance on generalized evidence regarding government corruption was insufficient to prove a likelihood of torture with government acquiescence. Consequently, the petition is denied, the temporary administrative stay is lifted, and the motion to stay removal is denied.

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