USCA11 Case: 20-13486 Date Filed: 08/27/2021 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 20-13486 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A208-136-995 HENRY ELIZALDO GARCIA-MORATAYA, N. A. G.-T., Y. E. G.-T., Petitioners, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (August 27, 2021) Before ROSENBAUM, LAGOA, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Henry Garcia-Morataya and his son and daughter (collectively, Petitioners), represented by counsel, seek review of the final order of the Board of Immigration USCA11 Case: 20-13486 Date Filed: 08/27/2021 Page: 2 of 8 Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of their request for withholding of removal and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). They contend that the BIA failed to consider their evidence of extortion, retaliation, intimidation, and rape when evaluating whether they suffered persecution in the past, and that a finding of past persecution does not require proof of a nexus or connection to a statutorily protected ground. After careful review, we deny the petition for review. I. Garcia-Morataya entered the United States with his minor son and daughter, who are all natives and citizens of Guatemala, in 2015. Not long after, they were apprehended and charged with removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) for being present in the country without authorization. They admitted removability and applied for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A) and protection under CAT, alleging that the children feared returning to Guatemala due to threats made against them. Represented by counsel, Garcia-Morataya and his daughter testified at the merits hearing in support of their request for relief from removal. According to their testimony, in 2014, the minor children were living with their grandmother in Guatemala when their cousin and aunt were kidnapped, and the cousin was raped. The kidnappers demanded 35,000 quetzales from the grandmother and threatened to 2 USCA11 Case: 20-13486 Date Filed: 08/27/2021 Page: 3 of 8 kill the whole family if she did not pay. The grandmother refused and instead called the police. After recovering the aunt and cousin, the police arrested and prosecuted a neighbor, someone named El Burro, who was ultimately sentenced to ten years in jail. Following his arrest, El Burro’s associates continued to make death threats against the family through flyers and spray paint. When made aware of the threats, the police responded by increasing their patrol of the area. The minor children’s mother heard of these events and, fearing for their safety, asked Garcia-Morataya, who lived several hours away in Guatemala, to bring them to her in the United States. She arranged for their travel and paid a smuggler to bring them across the border. The IJ denied withholding of removal and CAT protection. The IJ found that Garcia-Morataya and his children were not eligible for withholding of removal because (a) the threats, even accepted as true, did not rise to the level of past persecution; …
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