The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review filed by a Mexican family seeking asylum and withholding of removal. The panel found that substantial evidence supported the denial of their claims and that they failed to exhaust their Convention Against Torture claim.
The petitioners, a family of Mexican nationals, sought review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing their appeal from an immigration judge’s denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. They claimed fear of retribution from gang members for refusing to help guard barricades and asserted membership in a proposed social group of citizens who refuse gang directives.
The court’s reasoning
The court affirmed the denial of asylum and withholding of removal, finding that the record did not compel the conclusion that the petitioners faced an objectively reasonable risk of future persecution. The court noted that the threatening gang members had been arrested and that the petitioners could safely relocate within Mexico. Additionally, the court held that the petitioners failed to exhaust their Convention Against Torture claim before the agency, which is a mandatory requirement for judicial review.
What it means going forward
The petition for review is denied, leaving the Board of Immigration Appeals order in place and denying the family’s request for protection from removal to Mexico.
