The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing an asylum claim. The court held that the petitioners failed to prove the gangs targeted them based on a protected characteristic rather than financial gain.
Petitioners, natives of Honduras, sought review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order denying their applications for asylum, humanitarian asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection. The Immigration Judge had denied their claims after the petitioners alleged they were targeted by gangs for money and suffered sexual assault.
The court’s reasoning
The court applied the substantial evidence standard and found the BIA correctly determined the petitioners failed to establish a nexus between their protected characteristics and the harm they suffered. The record showed the gangs targeted the petitioner for money, not because she was a woman or a Honduran who reported crimes. The court also found the petitioners failed to prove government acquiescence for their Convention Against Torture claim and dismissed their motion for continuance and humanitarian asylum claims as unexhausted.
What it means going forward
The petition for review is denied, and the motion to stay removal is denied, leaving the removal order in effect.
