Case: 15-60526 Document: 00514924575 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/22/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED April 22, 2019 No. 15-60526 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk MELIDA TEREZA LUNA-GARCIA DE GARCIA, also known as Melida Luna-Garcia, also known as Melina Luna Garcia de Garcia, Petitioner, v. WILLIAM P. BARR, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. Petitions for Review of Orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A097 831 833 Before JOLLY, ELROD, and WILLETT, Circuit Judges. JENNIFER WALKER ELROD, Circuit Judge: Melinda Tereza Luna-Garcia de Garcia, a citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of her reinstated removal order, the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), and the BIA’s order denying her motion to reopen based on purportedly new evidence. We deny Luna-Garcia’s petitions for review. I. In 2004, Luna-Garcia entered the United States without inspection and was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) shortly Case: 15-60526 Document: 00514924575 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/22/2019 No. 15-60526 thereafter. The Border Patrol issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) and initiated removal proceedings against Luna-Garcia. On June 10, 2004, an immigration judge (IJ) held a hearing, but Luna-Garcia failed to appear. The IJ found that because Luna-Garcia failed to provide an address at which she could receive notice, no notice could be sent. The IJ subsequently ordered Luna-Garcia to be removed in absentia. Luna-Garcia voluntarily departed the United States in 2007, attempted to return to the United States in 2014, and was detained by the border agents. The Department of Homeland Security sought to reinstate the prior removal order. During the reinstatement proceeding, Luna-Garcia expressed a fear of returning to Guatemala, but an asylum officer determined that she did not have a reasonable fear of persecution or torture. The IJ disagreed and allowed Luna-Garcia to apply for relief from removal. Before the IJ, Luna-Garcia contended that she faced future persecution because Luna-Garcia’s mother-in- law and sister-in-law testified against a Guatemalan national—believed to be a gang member—who raped and murdered Luna-Garcia’s other sister-in-law in New York. Luna-Garcia alleged that she was in danger of future persecution based on three incidents in Guatemala: (1) three unknown men appearing at her sister-in-law’s funeral; (2) anonymous phone calls threatening her father- in-law; and (3) someone breaking windows at her brother’s home. These allegations formed the basis of Luna-Garcia’s application for withholding of removal and protection under the CAT. The IJ denied Luna-Garcia’s application for withholding of removal and protection under the CAT. In denying withholding of removal, the IJ found that Luna-Garcia did not “testify as to who those men [present at the funeral] were, why they passed by the funeral, or any reason they would harm her, apart from her speculation.” The IJ further found that unfulfilled threats to Luna-Garcia’s father-in-law did not establish persecution and that she failed 2 Case: 15-60526 Document: 00514924575 Page: 3 Date Filed: ...
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