Opinion ID: 2821461
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence Before the IJ

Text: At a hearing before the IJ, Garcia testified that he was afraid of being kidnapped, assaulted, robbed, or killed in Mexico because of his “perceived wealth” in returning from the United States. Garcia claimed that there were “people,” both in “farm areas” and “big cities,” “constantly checking . . . who’s coming in and out [of Mexico]” to identify targets for kidnapping or robbing. Garcia believed that he would not be able to seek protection against such “people” from law enforcement because of government corruption. Garcia further testified that he personally knew an individual, Rulen Vialouis, who was kidnapped in Mexico in 2004 or 2005 for money. Garcia opined, based on information he received from family living in Mexico and news reports, that there had been a rise in gangs since he left Mexico. See Kazemzadeh v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 577 F.3d 1341, 1352 (11th Cir. 2009) (deeming abandoned petitioner’s CAT claim to which petitioner’s brief made only a “passing reference”). 3 Case: 14-14782 Date Filed: 07/29/2015 Page: 4 of 8 Garcia conceded, however, that neither he nor any member of his family had ever been harmed while living in Mexico. At the time of his application, Garcia’s parents and two of his ten siblings still lived in Mexico. Garcia’s parents remained in the same family home where Garcia grew up in his home city of Yuriria, Guanajuato. Garcia estimated that his home city was 50 percent safer than “other areas in Mexico.” Garcia admitted that he originally came to the United States for work and not for protection and that there was nothing distinguishing him from any other person returning to Mexico from the United States. Before the IJ, Garcia also submitted U.S. Department of State reports concerning country conditions in Mexico, including a 2012 travel warning, a 2012 Human Rights Report, and a 2013 Crime and Safety Report, as well as news articles reporting on law enforcement corruption. Generally, the reports and articles stated that crime and violence, often in connection with drug-trafficking organizations, were widespread in Mexico but varied greatly by location. The 2012 travel warning noted that “[t]he number of kidnappings and disappearances throughout Mexico [was] of particular concern” and that members of both local and expatriate communities had been victims of kidnapping. Kidnapping remained a serious and underreported problem for persons of all socioeconomic levels, although the travel warning encouraged visitors to avoid displaying evidence of wealth. 4 Case: 14-14782 Date Filed: 07/29/2015 Page: 5 of 8 The reports and articles further indicated that corruption, human rights abuses, and participation in criminal activity were rampant among police forces. Police at both the state and local level sometimes provided protection for, or acted directly on behalf of, organized crime and drug traffickers.