Case: 18-60251 Document: 00515788451 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/19/2021 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED March 19, 2021 No. 18-60251 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Marisela Carolina Morales Lopez; Gretel Juliana Mejia Morales, Petitioners, versus Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General, Respondent. Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Before Southwick, Graves, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. James E. Graves, Jr., Circuit Judge:* Marisela Carolina Morales Lopez and her minor daughter G.J.M.M. are citizens of Honduras. They petition for review of the denial of their asylum applications. We grant, in part, and deny, in part, the petition; vacate the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) order of removal; and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. * Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4. Case: 18-60251 Document: 00515788451 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/19/2021 No. 18-60251 I. Morales Lopez and her daughter were charged with illegally entering the United States. They conceded that they are removable and sought asylum. Their application1 for asylum was denied.2 The application presented two bases for relief. First, in February 2013, Morales Lopez was living with her husband Jose Carlos Mejia Murillo and children 3 when members of Los Olanchos—a gang—broke into Morales Lopez’s home, beat Morales Lopez, and raped her repeatedly in front of her family. Second, in April or May 2015, members of Los Vatos Locos—another gang—tortured and murdered Morales Lopez’s husband and then began threatening Morales Lopez and her family. The petition for review concerns only the incidents connected to Los Vatos Locos. Los Vatos Locos first threatened Mejia Murillo in 2013 because he had an aunt who was a member of an opposing gang. Mejia Murillo was not involved in any gang himself. Although Mejia Murillo made efforts to avoid Los Vatos Locos, in April or May 2015, a third party lured him to an area where Los Vatos Locos members tortured and killed him. Community members who witnessed Mejia Murillo’s death told Morales Lopez that Los Vatos Locos members “hit [Mejia Murillo] with pipes on his face and head, [] broke his knees open until you could see the bones; [] split his head open 1 Morales Lopez’s daughter is a derivative-asylum applicant. All references to Morales Lopez or her application pertain to her daughter’s application as well. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(3)(A) (“A spouse or child . . . of an alien who is granted asylum under this subsection may, if not otherwise eligible for asylum under this section, be granted the same status as the alien if accompanying, or following to join, such alien.”). 2 Morales Lopez and her daughter had applied for additional relief that was denied but not at issue in their petition for review. See Soadjede v. Ashcroft, 324 F.3d 830, 833 (5th Cir. 2003) (deeming issues not raised …
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