United States Court of Appeals

for the Fifth Circuit

No. 21-60037

Summary Calendar

Lilian Teresa Hernandez-Ramos; Edwin Joel GarciaHernandez; 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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited 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.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

June 22, 2022

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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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); RamirezMejia 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.

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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. 

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