United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 19-1006 ARMINDA SEDEMA POJOY-DE LEÓN; BILDER AVDIEL DE LEÓN-POJOY, Petitioners, v. WILLIAM P. BARR, United States Attorney General, Respondent. PETITION FOR REVIEW OF AN ORDER OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS Before Lynch and Lipez,* Circuit Judges. Kevin MacMurray, Daniel T. Welch, and MacMurray & Associates, on brief for petitioners. Sabatino F. Leo, Senior Litigation Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, Joseph H. Hunt, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, and Anthony P. Nicastro, Assistant Director, Office of Immigration Litigation, on brief for respondent. December 21, 2020 * While this case was submitted to a panel that included Judge Torruella, he did not participate in the issuance of the panel's opinion. The remaining two panelists therefore issued the opinion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 46(d). LIPEZ, Circuit Judge. Petitioner Arminda Sedema Pojoy- De León ("Pojoy"),1 a native and citizen of Guatemala, challenges an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") denying her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). After a careful review of the record, we deny the petition. I. We draw the facts from the evidence in the administrative record, including Pojoy's asylum application and her testimony before the Immigration Judge ("IJ"). A. Background Pojoy and her minor son resided in Guatemala until June 13, 2014, when they entered the United States without inspection. They were apprehended two days later and placed in removal proceedings. On September 3, 2014, Pojoy filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal on behalf of herself and her son, claiming both past persecution and fear of future persecution based on her "[p]olitical opinion" and her "[m]embership in a particular social group." Pojoy also claimed a likelihood that, if returned to Guatemala, she would be subjected to torture because 1 Pojoy is the lead petitioner. She is referred to as Arminda Sedema Pojoy-Lopez in the administrative record and in the parties' briefs to this Court. Bilder Avdiel De León-Pojoy, her minor son, maintains a derivative claim. -2- "[i]t is dangerous and the government is corrupt," and Pojoy was "not confident the police or the judicial system in Guatemala [was] willing or able to protect [her] from the violence that is so prevalent in that country." Pojoy's affidavit in support of her application also stated that she feared for her life because of "violence between different villages and gangs" in Guatemala. In her memorandum of law to the IJ in support of her asylum claim, Pojoy asserted persecution based on membership in a social group consisting of "Guatemalan women," who, she claimed, "are subject to violence and discrimination, but are unable to receive official protection." She argued, relying on a U.S. Department of State Report on Country Conditions in Guatemala, that Guatemalan society perceives women as inferior to men and tolerates their mistreatment. In an amended affidavit supporting her asylum claim, Pojoy added details about her father. Pojoy averred ...
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