FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT May 20, 2021 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court JESSICA VANESSA CHICAS-MEJIA, Petitioner, v. No. 20-9533 (Petition for Review) MERRICK B. GARLAND, United States Attorney General, Respondent. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT** _________________________________ Before MORITZ, BALDOCK, and KELLY, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Petitioner, Jessica Vanessa Chicas-Mejia, is a citizen of Honduras. An immigration judge denied her asylum application, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (the Board) affirmed the denial. She petitions for review of the Board’s Merrick B. Garland has been substituted for William P. Barr as Respondent. See Fed. R. App. P. 43(c)(2). ** After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. decision.1 She raises one claim that she did not exhaust before the agency. As to that claim, we dismiss her petition. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 to review her exhausted claims. As to those claims, we deny her petition. I. Background Petitioner entered the United States in 2014. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged, and she conceded, that she was inadmissible. She applied for asylum. An asylum applicant must show that she is a “refugee.” 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(i). A refugee is a person unable or unwilling to return to her country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of any of five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Id. § 1101(a)(42); Rodas-Orellana v. Holder, 780 F.3d 982, 986 (10th Cir. 2015). Persecution in this context includes harm inflicted by private actors “the government is unwilling or unable to control.” Karki v. Holder, 715 F.3d 792, 801 (10th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted). Petitioner sought asylum fearing that, if she returns to Honduras, she will be persecuted based on her membership in a particular social group—Honduran women in domestic relationships who are unable to leave. Her fear arose from threats and 1 Petitioner also unsuccessfully applied for withholding of removal and for protection under the Convention Against Torture. But she pursues only her asylum claim here. 2 abuse from her former partner in Honduras, a man named Cesar Raul Quintanilla Garcia. Petitioner’s testimony, found credible by the immigration judge, detailed the abuse. From the beginning of the relationship, Garcia mistreated her. Occurring roughly six times per week, the abuse included beatings and forced sex. Petitioner never reported the abuse to police. Garcia threatened to kill her if she did. And Garcia’s father would not …
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