NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION File Name: 19a0311n.06 Case No. 18-3721 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Jun 19, 2019 SUSANA NOEMI LOPEZ-ARIAS; KELLY ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk BERENICE MOLINA-LOPEZ; TANNIA ) MARCELA MOLINA-LOPEZ; MARTA ) ALICIA LOPEZ DE BORJA; MASSIEL ) BORJA-LOPEZ, ) ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW Petitioners, ) FROM THE UNITED STATES ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION v. ) APPEALS ) WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, ) ) Respondent. ) BEFORE: SUTTON, BUSH, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges. JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Susana Lopez-Arias, Kelly Molina-Lopez, Tannia Molina-Lopez, Marta Lopez de Borja, and Massiel Borja-Lopez (collectively “Petitioners” or “the Lopez Family”)1 petition for review the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board” or “BIA”) denying their applications for asylum and withholding of removal. Because the Board committed no error of law and its determination is supported by substantial evidence in the administrative record, we DENY the petition for review. 1 Petitioners refer to themselves by their first names when referring to facts unique to each person, and so we will do the same. Case No. 18-3721, Lopez-Arias v. Barr I. BACKGROUND The Lopez Family are citizens and nationals of El Salvador and arrived in the United States at various times: Tannia, on September 25, 2015; and Susana, Kelly, Marta, and Massiel, on May 2, 2016. Shortly after arrival, each was placed in removal proceedings with the Department of Homeland of Security (“DHS”). The DHS charged Susana, Kelly, Marta, and Massiel with inadmissibility under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) and charged Tannia with inadmissibility under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). Petitioners conceded their respective removal charges and subsequently filed an application for asylum, for withholding of removal, and for withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). The immigration judge (“IJ”) heard testimony and received evidence on April 13, 2017, and on June 28, 2017, issued an order denying Petitioners their requested relief. Petitioners sought asylum and withholding of removal “based on their membership in a particular social group, defined as ‘members of the Lopez-Arias Family in El Salvador.’” A.R. at 99. According to Petitioners, they were persecuted by a local gang in El Salvador, Barrio 18, after the family opened a local seafood restaurant. Members of Barrio 18 demanded money and free meals, and would make death threats if the Lopez Family did not comply with their demands. The gang made it clear that they knew where the family lived and their daily schedules. Tannia tried reporting these threats to the local police, but she was told not to expect much of a response. After these threats continued for some time, the family sold the restaurant, and Tannia went to the United States in the early fall of 2015. Susana, Kelly, Marta, and Massiel, however, remained in El Salvador. Even though the family sold the restaurant, the threats did not cease. Members of the gang MS-13 threatened the remaining members of the Lopez Family in belief that the family could receive money from ...
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