Case: 19-11631 Date Filed: 12/27/2019 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 19-11631 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A206-622-169 BRENDY ASCENCIO-CORADO, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (December 27, 2019) Before MARTIN, ROSENBAUM, and GRANT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 19-11631 Date Filed: 12/27/2019 Page: 2 of 8 Brendy Ascencio-Corado, a citizen of Guatemala, seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) protection. Ascencio-Corado argues that the BIA erred when it retroactively applied Matter of A-B-, 27 I. & N. Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018), because agency rules should apply only prospectively given their close tie to legislation. I. A. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Ascencio-Corado is a native and citizen of Guatemala, born July 16, 1982, in Jalpatagua, Guatemala. In 2010, she met her husband, Josue Gilberto Pacheco Lopez. They dated for three years before she and her two children from a previous relationship moved in with Pacheco Lopez in July of 2013. One month later, Pacheco Lopez began to abuse her and control her life. He dictated how Ascencio- Corado could dress and whether she could wear makeup at her job. He physically and verbally abused her in both private and public. For example, Pacheco Lopez (1) once hit Ascencio-Corado in the face with an umbrella at a bus stop; (2) put her in a headlock upon picking her up from work; and (3) hit her in front of his mother and grandfather. In private, Pacheco Lopez would rape her daily, and if she attempted to refuse him, he would hit her and she believed he would kill her. 2 Case: 19-11631 Date Filed: 12/27/2019 Page: 3 of 8 During this time, Ascencio-Corado continued to work, even though Pacheco Lopez did not want her to. However, she eventually quit her job because Pacheco Lopez continuously pursued her while she was at work and would abuse her physically when he came to her workplace. Ascencio-Corado also sent her children to live with another family member because she did not want them to see Pacheco Lopez abuse her. After five or six months of living together, Pacheco Lopez confessed to Ascencio-Corado that he was a “gang member” and “a murderer.” He admitted that he had killed his former girlfriend because of her affiliation with another gang, and, when a potential gang member refused to join, Pacheco Lopez threw him down a ravine. Around the time of this confession, Ascencio-Corado tried to leave Pacheco Lopez for the first of many times. She was largely unsuccessful because each time she voiced her intention to leave, he would threaten to kill her and her children. Ascencio-Corado was also afraid of Pacheco Lopez’s connections, through his gang, to the police. She tried to leave him five times in total. The ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals