Opinion ID: 2789589
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Interview with USCIS

Text: Gonzalez-Posadas told the USCIS interviewer that he had fled Honduras for two reasons. First, he reported that a gang called the “Maras”1 wanted to kill him. He told USCIS that he had been extorted by the Maras several times in Honduras because they believed that his sister in the United 1 The “Mara Salvatrucha” – also known as “Maras” or “MS-13” – is a criminal gang that reportedly operates in Honduras and other Central American countries. (See A.R. at 230 (identifying the gang as “Mara Salvatrucha” or “MS13”); id. at 248 (identifying the “Maras” as the “MS-13” gang).) 3 States had sent him money. He said that the gang had never physically harmed him but on one occasion some gang members confronted him with a weapon, demanded 1,500 Lempira,2 and told him that they were going to kill him if he did not pay them within five days. He acknowledged, however, that he did not pay them and nothing happened to him the next time he saw them. The gang also attempted to recruit him and his cousin, but Gonzalez-Posadas refused to join. When asked if he had ever gone to the police to report the Maras, Gonzalez-Posadas said he had done so but that his efforts to get help were fruitless because the police told him that they “didn’t have enough proof” (A.R. at 249-50), evidently meaning there was insufficient proof to pursue his particular complaint. The second reason Gonzalez-Posadas gave for fleeing Honduras was that his family mistreated him because they believed he was gay. He told the interviewer that he is not gay but that people believed him to be gay. When asked if he had ever been subjected to torture, he responded that he had because his family “humiliated” him by using homophobic slurs. (Id. at 249-51.) Gonzalez-Posadas also stated that one of his cousins was tied up and raped by his father for being gay. In addition, Gonzalez-Posadas said he was twice raped as a teenager by his cousin Felipe but never told anyone about the rapes because Felipe threatened to hurt his mother if he reported them. When asked if he had any reason to fear the Honduran authorities, he replied, “No.” (Id. at 252.) 2 The Lempira is the currency of Honduras and, during the relevant time period, 1,500 lempira was worth approximately 78 U.S. dollars. 4 USCIS determined that Gonzalez-Posadas had established a reasonable fear of persecution in Honduras and referred his case for a hearing before an immigration judge (“IJ”).