Maria Rosa-Mejia v. Merrick B. Garland


NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 21a0170n.06 No. 20-3590 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED MARIA CRISTINA ROSA-MEJIA; Mar 31, 2021 PABLO ERNESTO GUEVARA-ROSA, DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk Petitioners, ON PETITION FOR REVIEW v. FROM THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, Respondent. BEFORE: CLAY, McKEAGUE, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. CLAY, Circuit Judge. Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a), Petitioners Maria Cristina Rosa- Mejia and Pablo Ernesto Guevara-Rosa seek review of an order by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of their application for asylum and withholding of removal. For the reasons set forth below, Petitioners’ application is denied. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background In March of 2015, Maria Cristina Rosa-Mejia and her son, Pablo Ernesto Guevara-Rosa, migrated to the United States without valid entry documentation. Until 2015, Maria lived in El Salvador, where she was married to her partner Juan and had four children from a prior relationship. In July 2014, her other son Cesar left for the United States, and twenty days later, Maria began to receive phone calls from Salvadorian gangs requesting rent money from Cesar. In Case No. 20-3590, Rosa-Mejia, et al. v. Garland September 2014, Cesar informed his mother that gangs had been extorting him for monthly payments of $200. Before Cesar left El Salvador, he and his father, Maria’s former partner, were involved in an agriculture business that gangs in the area knew was profitable. The gangs made increasing demands of Cesar and eventually requested $8000 from him, which he refused, and then fled to the United States with his wife, child and in-laws. Cesar then told his mother to leave their home to avoid gang violence. Heeding her son’s message, Maria left that same day with Juan, her husband of three years, and her other son Pablo, and traveled to San Jose La Cueva, San Juan Opico, a neighborhood two hours from her home. A month later, on October 16, gang members arrived at their residence and began shooting, and injured her husband Juan. As Maria and Pablo fled, Pablo was shot in the arm. Once Maria and Pablo were safe, Maria called the police, who instructed her not to go back to her home until they arrived. Accompanied by the police, Maria went back to her home and discovered that her husband had been shot to death. The police instructed Maria to pack her things and never return; this would be the last time she communicated with the Salvadorean police. Thereafter, Maria and Pablo moved to Santa Ana, El Salvador to stay with Maria’s sister. During this time, Maria received no new threats from gangs, but she remained hidden out of fear. Four months later, Maria left her sister’s home after deciding it was too small for the entire family. Still fearing the gangs, Maria decided it was best to flee to the United States instead of elsewhere in El Salvador. On March 17, 2015, Maria and Pablo entered …

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