Juana Hernandez-Garcia v. William P. Barr


In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 18-3297 JUANA HERNANDEZ-GARCIA, et al., Petitioners, v. WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General of the United States, Respondent. ____________________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Nos. A208-190-985, A208-190-986, A208-190-987 ____________________ ARGUED MAY 15, 2019 — DECIDED JULY 22, 2019 ____________________ Before WOOD, Chief Judge, and EASTERBROOK and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges. WOOD, Chief Judge. Juana Hernandez-Garcia is a citizen of Guatemala. She and two of her children, Brian and Yeniser Morales-Hernandez, entered the United States without proper documentation on August 29, 2015. They immediately received Notices to Appear for removal proceedings, but those Notices did not specify a date and time for their hearing. Later, when they nonetheless appeared before an immigration judge, they conceded removability but filed 2 No. 18-3297 requests for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention against Torture. As we detail below, first the immigration judge and then the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected those requests and ordered removal. Hernandez-Garcia, on behalf of both her children and herself, has petitioned this court for review. We conclude that the Board’s decision must be upheld, and so we deny their petitions for review. I In Guatemala, Hernandez-Garcia and her two youngest children lived in the village of Chiantla, Huehuetenango. Her husband, Anacleto Morales-Fuentes, came to the United States illegally in 2001. He regularly sent $200 to $300 every two weeks to his wife; in order to obtain access to that money, she took a bus to a nearby city and withdrew it from a bank. As a result of the extra funds she received, her home in the village was larger than those of her neighbors, and she had a higher standard of living. Until 2013, her oldest son lived with her and the two youngest children, but that year he left for the United States and left her on her own. It was not long before she began receiving anonymous notes asking for money and threatening her and the children. She told the immigration judge that she was certain the notes were from gang members. At first she did not take them seri- ously, but at the end of August 2015 they became more worri- some. One even threatened death if she did not pay the send- ers. On another occasion, someone knocked at the door and left a note with a vague threat that something bad would hap- pen to her. Hernandez-Garcia reported these incidents to the police, but they ignored her. Fearful, she left Guatemala with Brian and Yeniser on August 27, 2015. When they reached the No. 18-3297 3 U.S. border, Hernandez-Garcia was interviewed by the Bor- der Patrol. They were promptly served with Notices to Ap- pear, and on November 2, 2017, an immigration judge held a hearing on their applications for asylum, withholding of re- moval, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or ...

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