NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 23a0330n.06 No. 22-3990 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT MARIA LUPITA LOPEZ-HERNANDEZ; ) FILED YEILIN NICOHOL AYALA-LOPEZ; ) Jul 19, 2023 YEIRIN JULISSA AYALA-LOPEZ, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) Petitioners, ) ) v. ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW FROM ) THE UNITED STATES BOARD OF MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, ) IMMIGRATION APPEALS ) Respondent. ) Before: CLAY, KETHLEDGE, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges. CLAY, Circuit Judge. Petitioners Maria Lupita Lopez-Hernandez and her two daughters, Yeilin Nicohol Ayala-Lopez and Yeirin Julissa Ayala-Lopez, petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the decision of the immigration judge (“IJ”) denying their applications for asylum and withholding of removal under sections 208(b)(1)(A) and 241(b)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(b)(1)(A), 1231(b)(3)(A), and denying relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). For the reasons that follow, the petition for review is DENIED. BACKGROUND Maria Lupita Lopez-Hernandez and her two daughters, Yeilin Nicohol Ayala-Lopez and Yeirin Julissa Ayala-Lopez, are natives and citizens of Honduras. Ms. Lopez’s older daughter, Yeilin, was born deaf and mute. In Honduras, Yeilin was unable to communicate with her teachers No. 22-3990, Lopez-Hernandez v. Garland or other students, learn how to read or write, or make friends because of her disability. At school, Yeilin suffered abuse from other students who bullied and physically attacked her, and her teachers did not intervene. Yeilin’s sister, Yeirin, often defended Yeilin from other students at school, despite being the younger of the two. Yeilin briefly attended a school for disabled children, but it was a long distance from her home and Ms. Lopez was unable to pay for Yeilin to continue attending the school. Yeilin developed depression; she stopped attending school entirely at age twelve. In 2015, a cousin of Yeilin’s and Yeirin’s, Luis Antonio Ramos-Gomez, was killed close to Ms. Lopez’s home. The police did not investigate Luis’ killing, and it is unknown why Luis was killed. Later, the man suspected of killing Luis was himself killed. The mother of that man repeatedly threatened Yeirin because the mother believed that Yeirin’s father had ordered the killing of her son in retaliation for Luis’ killing. In the same year, Ms. Lopez’s house was robbed twice. Yeilin and her mother and sister fear returning to Honduras because of the danger of the country and because of the hardship Yeilin faces on account of her disability. Petitioners arrived in the United States on April 2, 2016 without being admitted or paroled. The Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against Petitioners by filing notices to appear with the immigration court charging Petitioners with being subject to removal pursuant to section 212(a)(6)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Petitioners admitted the factual allegations in the notices to appear and conceded removability under 212(a)(6)(A)(i), but petitioned for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT. At the hearing before the IJ on June 21, 2019, all three Petitioners testified …
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