NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 22a0025n.06 Case No. 21-3187 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Jan 14, 2022 DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) JUANA MELCHOR TAPERIA, ) Petitioner, ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW ) FROM THE UNITED STATES v. ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION ) APPEALS MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, ) Respondent. ) OPINION ) Before: COLE, LARSEN, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. COLE, Circuit Judge. Petitioner Juana Melchor Taperia, a native and citizen of Guatemala, suffered abuse at the hands of her domestic partner. After almost a decade of abuse, Melchor fled to the United States and sought asylum and withholding of removal based on membership in purported social groups. An immigration judge denied asylum and withholding of removal, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed that ruling, dismissing her appeal. Melchor now petitions this court for review of the BIA order dismissing her appeal. For the reasons stated, we deny the petition. I. BACKGROUND Petitioner Melchor is a mother and 32-year-old native citizen of Guatemala. (A.R. 305; 315.) She met the father of her children, Vicente Reyes Teletor, the year she turned 17. At the Case No. 21-3187, Melchor v. Garland time, she was living in the United States. (A.R. 169.) She moved in with Vicente, and after only a few months, he began to physically abuse her. (Id.) In 2007, Melchor’s first son was born, and the abuse escalated. Vicente dragged her and hit her with his fists. (A.R. 170.) She went to a woman who worked for her apartment building and asked for help. The woman called the police and reported Vicente. (Id.) The police arrested him, and he was subsequently removed to Guatemala. But Vicente returned to the United States within a month. (Id.) And upon his return, Vicente convinced Melchor to get back together with him because of their son. (Id.) When she moved back in, he continued to abuse her, both physically and emotionally. (Id.) The abuse included regular threats. Specifically, Vicente threatened to harm Melchor’s parents and family back in Guatemala. (A.R. 171.) Melchor believed these threats because Vicente knew where her parents lived. (Id.) This abuse went on until 2010, even when she was pregnant with their second child. (A.R. 171 –72.) In 2010, Vicente was again removed to Guatemala. (A.R. 172.) Vicente repeatedly called Melchor from Guatemala, demanding that she return. (Id.) He threatened to harm her family if she did not obey. (Id.) Afraid Vicente would act on these threats, she returned to Guatemala and moved in with Vicente in February of 2011. (A.R. 172 –73.) For about three months, everything was fine, but by the spring, Vicente was once again abusing Melchor. He hit, dragged, and kicked her multiple times per week. (A.R. 173.) Then he would lock her away in a room until the bruises on her body and face went away. (A.R. at 174, 176.) Sometimes, when the children asked why their mother was crying, Vicente would hit them with his …
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