Background
Claudia Coreas Flores petitioned for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision that dismissed her appeal after an Immigration Judge denied her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection. She alleged a due process violation regarding the denial of telephonic testimony from a witness named Blanca and challenged the sufficiency of evidence regarding the Salvadoran government’s ability to protect her from harassment by a man named Beto.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed due process challenges de novo and factual findings for substantial evidence. It found no due process violation because the Immigration Judge admitted a nearly seven-page letter from Blanca into evidence, negating any prejudice from denying telephonic testimony. Regarding the asylum claim, the court applied the standard requiring proof that the government was unable or unwilling to control the persecutor. The record showed that while the petitioner faced harassment, she did not report it to authorities, and the police had previously arrested the harasser. Although country conditions evidence showed problems with violence against women, it also showed improvements, including a 2012 law criminalizing such violence. The evidence did not compel the conclusion that Salvadoran authorities would be unable or unwilling to help. Consequently, the petitioner failed the more demanding standard for withholding of removal and the standard for Convention Against Torture protection.
What it means going forward
The decision affirms the dismissal of the asylum claim and reinforces the requirement that petitioners must demonstrate a government’s inability or unwillingness to protect them, even in jurisdictions with known issues regarding violence against women.