Background
Petitioners Jose Hector Marroquin Azucena, his wife, and minor child, natives of El Salvador, sought review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ dismissal of their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The immigration judge had denied their applications, and the Board of Immigration Appeals agreed with the reasoning while adding its own analysis.
The court’s reasoning
The court applied the substantial evidence standard to review the agency’s denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture claims. The court found that the proposed family-based particular social groups lacked social distinction because the record did not compel a finding that the family was set apart in a significant way. The court also found that the group of witnesses to gang murders lacked social distinction as there was no evidence they were perceived as a distinct group by society. Additionally, the court held that the group defined by taking concrete steps to oppose gang authority lacked particularity because the phrase was not sufficiently defined in the record. The court concluded that because the petitioners were ineligible for asylum, they were also ineligible for withholding of removal.
What it means going forward
The denial of the petition leaves in place the agency’s decision to deny asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture relief to the petitioners, requiring them to remain subject to removal proceedings or return to El Salvador.