NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 21a0314n.06 Case No. 20-4263 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Jul 06, 2021 ANGELINA DOMINGO-MATEO; MATEO ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk EDUARDO PEDRO-DOMINGO, ) ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW Petitioners, ) FROM THE UNITED STATES ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION v. ) APPEALS ) MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, ) Respondent. ) OPINION BEFORE: COLE, ROGERS, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. COLE, Circuit Judge. Angelina Domingo-Mateo and her six-year-old son applied for asylum and withholding of removal. After hearing testimony from Domingo-Mateo, the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied their applications, concluding that they did not demonstrate past persecution. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed. Domingo-Mateo and her son subsequently brought this petition, arguing that they were denied a full and fair hearing in violation of the Due Process Clause because Domingo-Mateo’s interpreter was inadequate and the IJ exhibited bias and hostility. We disagree and accordingly deny the petition for review. I. Domingo-Mateo and her six-year-old son are natives of Guatemala. The Department of Homeland Security filed a Notice to Appear against Domingo-Mateo in May of 2015, alleging that she was present in the United States without being lawfully admitted. In response, the petitioners Case No. 20-4263, Domingo-Mateo, et al. v. Garland applied for asylum and withholding of removal. Domingo-Mateo asserted that in 2013, her neighbor was killed by masked gang members after refusing to pay them money. She further explained that the same gang members had knocked on her door on four occasions, presumably to extort money from her as well. Domingo-Mateo asserted that her cousin Mathias Lopez had been sending her money, and that, but for her relations with her cousin, she would not have been targeted for extortion. As a result, she claimed that she feared the gang members would torture or kill her and her son if she returned to Guatemala. At her first appearance before an IJ, Domingo-Mateo stated that her best language is Akateko. The IJ then held a total of three Master Hearings on October 2, 2015, February 1, 2016, and May 18, 2016. One was conducted with a Kanjobal interpreter and the other two with Spanish interpreters. After a stay, Domingo-Mateo’s Individual Hearing was held on September 28, 2018, before a new IJ. This hearing was held with a Kanjobal interpreter. The IJ instructed the interpreter to make sure he and Domingo-Mateo understood each other. The interpreter responded, “Yes, Your Honor, we understand each other.” During the hearing, the IJ continuously had to ask Domingo-Mateo to answer the questions more directly. At one point, she stated, “Ma’am, yes or no. You have to listen to the question and answer it yes or no.” Later, she inquired “Ma’am, you’re not answering the question. You’re just saying whatever it is you think you need to say. Your lawyer is going to ask the question again, and you will please answer it directly. Do you understand my instructions?” During this part of the testimony, the IJ also separately …
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