United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 21-2900 ___________________________ Fatima Carolina Coreas-Chavez; Carlos Antonio Zelaya-Chavez; S.C.Z.C. Petitioners v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General of the United States Respondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: September 23, 2022 Filed: November 1, 2022 ____________ Before GRUENDER, SHEPHERD, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges. ____________ SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge. Carlos Antonio Zelaya-Chavez, Fatima Carolina Coreas-Chavez, and their daughter, S.C.Z.C. (collectively, Petitioners), natives and citizens of El Salvador, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (BIA) denial of Petitioners’ motion to reconsider the BIA’s prior order, which upheld the immigration judge’s (IJ) decision finding the Petitioners removable and denying their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Having jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, we deny the petition. I. Prior to seeking asylum in the United States, Petitioners lived in a village in El Salvador. Zelaya-Chavez operated several businesses, including a small store, a mill, and a welding shop. In 2015, “gangsters” began harassing and extorting Zelaya-Chavez at his store, demanding drinks, cigarettes, and calling cards once or twice a week. Though the gangsters never physically attacked Zelaya-Chavez, he nonetheless complied with their demands, fearing that the gangsters would harm him or his relatives if he refused. At one point, Zelaya-Chavez received an anonymous note demanding $130. The note stated that “it was going to be bad” for Zelaya- Chavez and his family if he refused to comply. Accordingly, Zelaya-Chavez paid as much of the demand as he could. The gangsters continued to take merchandise from the store, but they never discussed the note. Eventually, Zelaya-Chavez filed a police report with a police station in a neighboring town. A detective interviewed Zelaya-Chavez and asked him to help identify the gangsters. Zelaya-Chavez agreed. On two separate occasions, Zelaya-Chavez donned a police uniform and ski mask, rode with the detective through the village, and identified gang members, including the gang’s leader. On one occasion, police attempted to stop the gangsters, but they fled the scene. They later arrested one of the gangsters but released him due to his young age. Sometime later, a group of seven armed gangsters came to Zelaya-Chavez’s house and threatened to kill him and his family if he had reported them to the police. They stayed outside the house for approximately 30 minutes. Despite the encounter, Zelaya-Chavez did not believe the gangsters knew at the time that he had already reported their activities to the police. Petitioners left El Salvador and entered the United States without a valid entry document on December 25, 2015. Since their departure, gangsters have continued -2- to threaten Zelaya-Chavez’s relatives. They have demanded two to three dollars from his mother and brother each week. However, the record is unclear as to whether these demands are related to Zelaya-Chavez. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) filed separate Notices to Appear (NTA) for each Petitioner, charging each with …
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