Hernandez-Ramos v. Garland ( 2022 )

Case: 21-60037 Document: 00516366303 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/22/2022
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
June 22, 2022
No. 21-60037
Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Lilian Teresa Hernandez-Ramos; Edwin Joel Garcia-
Hernandez; Michael Josue Dubon-Hernandez,
Petitioners,
versus
Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General,
Respondent.
Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Agency No. A208 280 378
Agency No. A208 280 379
Agency No. A208 280 380
Before King, Costa, and Ho, Circuit Judge.
Per Curiam:*
Lilian Teresa Hernandez-Ramos, Edwin Joel Garcia-Hernandez, and
Michael Josue Dubon-Hernandez, natives and citizens of Honduras, petition
*
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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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: 21-60037 Document: 00516366303 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/22/2022
No. 21-60037
for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (BIA) decision dismissing
their appeal from an order of the Immigration Judge (IJ) denying their
applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the
Convention Against Torture (CAT). The petitioners sought relief based on
membership in a particular social group (PSG) comprised of family members
of Elvin Adonai Avila Estrada, a cousin who was in the military and murdered
while delivering ballots for an election. 1
Hernandez-Ramos testified that she did not know who shot her during
an armed robbery or who was responsible for murdering Elvin. Thus, her
assertion that she was targeted due to her family relationship to Elvin is based
on nothing more than speculation. As such, she fails to show that substantial
evidence compels a conclusion contrary to that of the BIA on the issue of
whether she demonstrated past persecution on account of her family-based
PSG. See Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2005); Ramirez-
Mejia v. Lynch, 794 F.3d 485, 492-93 (5th Cir. 2015); Thuri v. Ashcroft, 380
F.3d 788, 792-93 (5th Cir. 2004). Additionally, Hernandez-Ramos was never
threatened or harmed during the two and half years she lived in Honduras
following the armed robbery incident. Moreover, her parents, grandfather,
three siblings, aunts, and uncles, including the parents of Elvin, currently live
in Honduras without issue. Thus, Hernandez-Ramos has failed to show that
substantial evidence compels a conclusion contrary to that of the BIA on the
issue of whether she demonstrated a well-founded fear of future persecution.
See Zhang, 432 F.3d at 344; 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b)(2)(ii). The BIA therefore
correctly denied her requests for asylum and withholding of removal. See
Zhang, 432 F.3d at 344; Efe v. Ashcroft, 293 F.3d 899, 906 (5th Cir. 2002).
1
Edwin and Michael are Hernandez-Ramos’s sons and are included as derivative
beneficiaries in her asylum application.
2
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No. 21-60037
Lastly, Hernandez-Ramos abandons her CAT claim by failing to raise
the claim on appeal. See Soadjede v. Ashcroft, 324 F.3d 830, 833 (5th Cir.
2003). Accordingly, the petition for review is DENIED.
3