Case: 20-10534 Date Filed: 10/02/2020 Page: 1 of 6 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 20-10534 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A209-341-400 KENIA ELIZABETH CASTILLO-PEREZ, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (October 2, 2020) Before JORDAN, GRANT, and LUCK, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 20-10534 Date Filed: 10/02/2020 Page: 2 of 6 Kenia Elizabeth Castillo-Perez petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s decision to dismiss her appeal of the immigration judge’s denial of her application for asylum and withholding of removal. She argues that the board and the immigration judge erred in finding that she did not establish a nexus between her persecution and her membership in a particular social group (her family). We deny her petition. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Castillo-Perez, a native and citizen of Honduras, illegally entered the United States on August 17, 2016. On August 19, 2016, the government charged her with being removable for entering without admission at a port of entry. Castillo-Perez conceded that she was removable and applied for asylum and withholding of removal based on her membership in “a particular social group,” which she identified as her family. She claimed past persecution and a fear of future persecution related to threats that she and her brother received from their neighbors in Honduras. While in Honduras, Castillo-Perez’s family had a neighbor, Panfilo Molina, who died shortly after fainting on or near their farm. After Molina’s death, his daughters threatened revenge on Castillo-Perez and her brother. The daughters believed that Castillo-Perez and her brother were responsible for Molina’s death and 2 Case: 20-10534 Date Filed: 10/02/2020 Page: 3 of 6 they threatened to kill Castillo-Perez. Despite the threats, Castillo-Perez and her brother were never harmed. An immigration judge denied Castillo-Perez’s application for asylum and withholding of removal. The immigration judge found that her testimony was not credible and that she had not demonstrated past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground. The immigration judge found that Castillo-Perez had not established that the threats she faced “were motivated by family ties.” Rather, the immigration judge found that they were motivated by revenge against her and her brother for Molina’s death. The board agreed with the immigration judge and dismissed Castillo-Perez’s appeal. The board found that Castillo-Perez failed to show past persecution because she had never been physically harmed. And the board found that Castillo-Perez “ha[d] not established the necessary nexus between the claimed fear of persecution and a protected ground” because she failed to show that the persecution was on account of family ties. Castillo-Perez petitions for review of the board’s decision. STANDARD OF REVIEW We review the decision of the board as the final judgment, unless the board expressly adopted the immigration judge’s opinion. Perez-Zenteno v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 913 F.3d 1301, 1306 (11th Cir. 2019). Where the board agrees ...
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