Case Explained: HERNANDEZ, ET AL. V. BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-14

The Ninth Circuit denied the petition for review filed by Yolanda Hernandez and her two children seeking asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The court held that substantial evidence supported the Board of Immigration Appeals’ conclusion that the petitioners failed to establish the required nexus between the harm they suffered or feared and a protected ground, specifically “membership in a particular social group” defined as the Hernandez family. Applying the substantial evidence standard of review, the court found it reasonable for the agency to determine that the mistreatment by gang members—including extortion and threats against the mother and daughter—was motivated by generalized criminal activities, such as efforts to expand gang membership or financial gain, rather than persecution based on their family relationship. Because this failure to establish a nexus is dispositive of the asylum and withholding claims, the court declined to address other issues, including the forfeiture of the Convention Against Torture claim. As a result, the petitioners’ applications for relief remain denied, and the order of the Immigration Judge dismissing their appeals stands.

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