Background
Heidi Evelin Arias-Hernandez, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitioned for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision affirming an Immigration Judge’s order denying her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection. The petitioner alleged she faced threats from private actors and claimed the government could not protect her.
The court’s reasoning
The court first addressed jurisdiction, holding that the Immigration Judge had jurisdiction because the original notice to appear was supplemented with a notice of hearing containing the required date, time, and location information. The court then found the petitioner failed to exhaust her challenge to the determination that the government of El Salvador could not protect her from private actors. Finally, the court concluded the record did not compel the conclusion that she would more likely than not be tortured upon removal, noting that general evidence of corruption does not establish government consent or acquiescence.
What it means going forward
The denial of the petition leaves in place the lower agency orders denying the petitioner’s claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection.