Opinion ID: 165792
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Procedural History and Issues on Appeal

Text: 2 The immigration judge (IJ) consolidated petitioners' cases. According to the IJ's decision, 1 petitioners are natives and citizens of Honduras who were and are business partners. They entered the United States illegally on or about June 28, 2000. They were noticed to appear on June 28, 2000, and were charged with entering the United States without inspection under § 212(a)(6)(A)(i) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). Petitioners applied for asylum and withholding of removal, asserting that they fear persecution or torture if they return to Honduras. They claimed that their business debt to an unscrupulous creditor, Pedro Trejo, put them in the particular social group of small businessmen ruined in 1998 by Hurricane Mitch who are indebted to private creditors connected to the corrupt Honduran business and political system. The IJ analyzed their claims and denied them both asylum and withholding of removal. 3 Petitioners appealed to the Board, which issued a decision through a single Board member. See Admin. R. at 1. 2 That decision, in pertinent part, states: 4 The respondent has appealed from the Immigration Judge's decision dated January 08, 2002. We have reviewed the record and we agree that the respondent failed to meet his burden of establishing past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of one of the statutorily protected grounds, or that it is more likely than not that he will be persecuted or subjected to torture upon his return to Honduras. See section 101(a)(42)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A); INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 112 S.Ct. 812, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992); INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 107 S.Ct. 1207, 94 L.Ed.2d 434 (1987); INS v. Stevic, 467 U.S. 407, 104 S.Ct. 2489, 81 L.Ed.2d 321 (1984); 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c)(2); Matter of Y-L-, A-G-, & R-S-R, 23 I & N Dec. 270 (A.G.2002); Matter of S-V-, 22 I & N Dec. 1306 (BIA 2000). The respondent has presented no arguments on appeal which persuade us that this decision should be disturbed. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. 5 Admin. R. at 2. The Board member's cited authorities are different, except for one case, from those the IJ relied on. And that one case, INS v. Stevic, 467 U.S. 407, 104 S.Ct. 2489, 81 L.Ed.2d 321 (1984), was cited by the IJ only for a general standard of asylum law. See Admin. R. at 142. The Board member did not mention any of the other authorities the IJ relied on, including the five cases the IJ cited in his discussion about what constitutes a particular social group for purposes of asylum and withholding of removal. See id. at 148-50. The Board member's citation of different authorities suggests that he analyzed this case differently than the IJ did. 6 Petitioners contend that: (1) the Board's decision is neither a summary affirmance nor a reasoned decision, and it therefore violates administrative law and their due process rights; (2) they were eligible for asylum because of their status as persecuted members of the refugee category, particular social group, see 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A); and (3) they proved the Honduran government's acquiescence in torture and are therefore entitled to relief under the CAT.