Mierna Chilel-Chilel, a native of Guatemala, entered the United States unlawfully in 2018 and sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). She alleged that her husband subjected her to years of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse, including death threats, after she attempted to leave the marriage. Although she moved to live with her parents and later her sister in a different city, she claimed her husband continued to threaten her. An Immigration Judge denied her claims, finding that her proposed social groups were not cognizable and that she could safely relocate within Guatemala. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) agreed with the denial, assuming for the sake of argument that her proposed social group was valid but concluding that she could relocate safely and that she failed to prove a clear probability of future torture.
The Third Circuit reviewed the BIA's decision under the substantial evidence standard, which requires that factual findings be conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude otherwise. The court addressed the asylum and withholding of removal claims first. Because the BIA had assumed the petitioner's proposed social group was cognizable, the court focused on whether the BIA correctly rebutted the presumption of future persecution. The court found substantial evidence supporting the BIA's conclusion that Chilel-Chilel could safely relocate within Guatemala. The record showed she had successfully relocated twice in the past to live with family members, and her abuser had not made recent attempts to find her or contact her since 2018. The court rejected the petitioner's argument that the BIA failed to consider whether relocation was 'reasonable,' noting that the BIA's analysis of safety and the specific evidence presented effectively covered the requirement. Regarding the CAT claim, the court held that the petitioner failed to show it was more likely than not that she would be tortured. The court noted that her claim relied on a chain of unlikely assumptions: that her husband would find her, that he would harm her, and that the harm would constitute torture. Furthermore, the court found no evidence that Guatemalan officials would consent or acquiesce to such torture, even though local police had previously dismissed her complaint.
The denial of the petition means the BIA's decision stands, and the petitioner remains subject to removal from the United States. The ruling clarifies that past successful internal relocation and a lack of recent contact from an abuser are significant factors in determining whether a petitioner can safely move within their home country. It also reaffirms that a petitioner must provide specific evidence that government officials would acquiesce to torture, not just that they failed to provide protection in a specific instance.
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