USCA11 Case: 21-10012 Date Filed: 12/01/2022 Page: 1 of 10 [DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 21-10012 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ TANIA NOHEMY PAZ-MEZA, MARIO EMILIO RODRIGUEZ-PAZ, Petitioners, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ____________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals Agency No. A202-001-038 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 21-10012 Date Filed: 12/01/2022 Page: 2 of 10 2 Opinion of the Court 21-10012 Before WILSON, ROSENBAUM, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Tania Paz-Meza fled Honduras for the United States in 2014 after several close family members were killed and her brother, a police officer in Honduras for several years, was shot. She applied for asylum and withholding of removal, asserting that she and her family were being targeted by narcotraffickers for their connection to her brother, who ultimately was killed in 2017, and his police activities. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), affirming the decision of an immigration judge (“IJ”), found that she was in- eligible for asylum and withholding because she failed to establish a “nexus” between the killings and a statutorily protected ground. In the BIA’s view, Paz-Meza’s belief that the killings were all trace- able to her brother and his police work was too speculative to sup- port relief. She now petitions this Court for review. We now grant her petition. I. Tania1, a native and citizen of Honduras, arrived in the United States in July 2014 with her minor son (then three years old). Soon after, the government began proceedings to remove them for entering without authorization. She retained counsel and 1 Because Tania and her siblings share the same last name, we use their first names for clarity. USCA11 Case: 21-10012 Date Filed: 12/01/2022 Page: 3 of 10 21-10012 Opinion of the Court 3 filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal on be- half of herself and her son, asserting that she and her family had been targeted for murder by narcotraffickers due to their connec- tion to her brother Pedro, who had been a police officer in Hondu- ras. In support of her application, Tania submitted a sworn state- ment from Pedro, and she and her sister Alba testified at the merits hearing. This evidence reflected that Pedro worked for the Hon- duran National Police from 2004 to 2007. He worked in part on investigations involving the trafficking of drugs and goods, which led to high penalties for some offenders. In 2006, Pedro began receiving death threats to himself and his family based on his police work. He requested but was denied police protection not only for himself but also for his family. He also sought reassignment. As a result of the threats, Tania’s mother left Honduras for Spain in October 2006, but her father refused to leave. Not long after, in December 2006, he was killed. The mur- der was not investigated. When Tania and Alba visited the prose- cutor’s office to obtain information about their father’s murder, …
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