Opinion ID: 4529979
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Reasonable Fear Determination

Text: Zapata-Martinez had a “reasonable fear” interview with an asylum officer in January 2019, during which he described harm he experienced in the Dominican Republic from a criminal group called “Los Trinitarios.” Between 1997 and 2005 he was threatened “many times” and harmed once. No. 19-1474 EOIR A.R. 44.1 His motorcycle was stolen by Los Trinitarios in 1997. When he reported the theft to the police, they told him “that they [we]re going to investigate” the incident. Id. at 47. He then decided to investigate on his own because he worried that police were working with Los Trinitarios, and he subsequently recovered his motorcycle. Los Trinitarios members then threatened Zapata-Martinez because they were angry about the recovery, after which five or six Los Trinitarios members beat him up, including inflicting a head injury and stab wound in his back. The men also threatened Zapata-Martinez because he had reported them. He did not know how the group learned that he reported them. He left his town after the assault but continued receiving threats from Los Trinitarios. He came to the United States in 1999, approximately six months after the assault. Zapata-Martinez stated that between 2002 and 2005, when he returned to the Dominican Republic, he was never physically harmed, but he continued to receive indirect and written communications from Los Trinitarios members threatening to kill him. In 2005, his brother was killed, and Zapata-Martinez speculated that the murderers 1 Three records have been filed for the two consolidated cases. In No. 19-1474 (reasonable fear proceedings) two records were filed—one from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“No. 19-1474 EOIR A.R.”) and one from DHS (“No. 19-1474 DHS A.R.”), and in No. 19-3084 (motion to reopen/terminate) one record was filed from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“No. 19-3084 A.R.”). 3 were Los Trinitarios members who were looking for him. He is afraid that, if returned to the Dominican Republic, he would be killed by gang members. Zapata-Martinez admitted that he never reported to the police his encounters with the criminal group aside from the 1997 motorcycle theft. He never experienced “any mistreatment, threats or harm from public officials” in the Dominican Republic and never had any problems with the government. Id. 49. He claimed the police are corrupt but admitted he “d[id]n’t have any proof” of a connection between police and Los Trinitarios. Id. 50. He also claimed that his son was shot in the Dominican Republic, but he “d[id]n’t know” who shot him. Id. 51. He speculated it was Los Trinitarios or the police. ZapataMartinez also admitted he had never been threatened or harmed because of his race, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, or nationality. The asylum officer determined Zapata-Martinez failed to establish a reasonable fear of persecution or torture (noting that the harm he experienced was not on account of a protected characteristic), failed to show that the group who harmed him was motivated by a protected ground rather than criminal activities or retaliation, and did not provide specific and persuasive testimony to indicate that Los Trinitarios was connected to the police. The officer also found Zapata-Martinez failed to show a reasonable probability of torture with the consent or acquiescence of a public official. The IJ conducted a hearing in February 2019. He acknowledged ZapataMartinez’s fear of harm and found him credible but concluded he did not establish that his fear of harm was related to a protected ground. The IJ also found that ZapataMartinez did not demonstrate that the government was blind, or had acquiesced, to his 4 harm, noting police told him they would investigate the motorcycle theft, but that he instead took matters into his own hands and did not report any further incidents. The IJ issued an order finding no connection to any protected characteristic and no government action.