Case Explained: MARROQUIN AZUCENA, ET AL. V. BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-08

The Ninth Circuit denied the petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court applied the substantial evidence standard to review the agency’s factual determinations regarding the Petitioners’ proposed particular social groups (PSGs) and their eligibility for relief. The court held that substantial evidence supported the agency’s conclusion that the Petitioners failed to establish persecution on account of a protected ground. Specifically, the court found the agency correctly determined that the proposed family-based PSGs lacked “social distinction” because the record did not contain sufficient objective evidence beyond the Petitioner’s testimony to show the group was set apart in Salvadoran society. Furthermore, the court upheld the finding that the proposed group of “Salvadoran witnesses to gang murders who cooperate with the police” lacked social distinction due to a lack of evidence showing society perceives them as a distinct group, and rejected the proposal of “Salvadorans taking concrete steps to oppose gang authority” for lacking particularity because the phrase “concrete steps” was not sufficiently defined in the record. Regarding withholding of removal, the court ruled that because the Petitioners were ineligible for asylum, they were necessarily ineligible for withholding of removal under the applicable legal standard. Finally, the court affirmed the denial of CAT relief, finding substantial evidence supported the agency’s determination that the Petitioners failed to demonstrate a greater than fifty percent chance of being tortured with the acquiescence of Salvadoran government officials. As a result, the petition is denied and the BIA’s order stands.

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