Case: 17-13201 Date Filed: 01/25/2019 Page: 1 of 22 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 17-13201 ________________________ Agency No. A088-711-937 MARIA BELEN PEREZ-ZENTENO, GERARDO MELCHOR-PEREZ, Petitioners, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (January 25, 2019) Before MARCUS, NEWSOM and EBEL, ∗ Circuit Judges. MARCUS, Circuit Judge: ∗ Honorable David M. Ebel, United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit, sitting by designation. Case: 17-13201 Date Filed: 01/25/2019 Page: 2 of 22 The central question raised in this immigration appeal is whether the Petitioners are entitled to asylum on account of being members of a “particular social group” as defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Maria Perez-Zenteno (“Perez-Zenteno”) and her son (Gerardo Melchor Perez) seek review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision denying their requests for asylum, withholding of removal, and humanitarian asylum. They claim entitlement to asylum because they were persecuted in Mexico on account of membership in a “particular social group,” which they defined as all “Mexican citizens targeted by criminal groups because they have been in the United States and they have families in the United States.” The Immigration Judge (IJ) denied relief because, although Perez-Zenteno was beaten and brutally raped and her daughter kidnapped, she failed to prove that she was persecuted on account of membership in a statutorily protected group. The social group offered was neither sufficiently particular nor socially distinct. What’s more, the IJ determined Perez- Zenteno failed to establish any nexus between the persecution she suffered and the statutory grounds asserted. The BIA agreed. Because we too agree that Perez- Zenteno has failed to establish membership in a particular social group, as defined by Congress, and because no nexus has been shown, we hold that the petition must be denied. 2 Case: 17-13201 Date Filed: 01/25/2019 Page: 3 of 22 I. Maria Perez-Zenteno is a native and citizen of Mexico, from the village of Tzitzio in the state of Michoacán. In 2015, she applied for admission to the United States. On November 10, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security commenced removal proceedings against Perez-Zenteno and her son by filing Notices to Appear, charging them with inadmissibility under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) because they lacked valid entry documents. The Petitioners appeared before an IJ, represented by counsel. They admitted to the allegations and conceded the inadmissibility charges. However, Perez-Zenteno sought asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture on the ground that she suffered past persecution at the hands of Mexican criminals based on her membership in a particular social group: “Mexican citizens targeted by criminal groups because they have been in the United States and they have families in the United States.”1 1 Both the BIA and the Immigration Judge at various points defined the proffered group as “Mexican citizens targeted by criminal groups because they have been in the United States and have families in ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals