Opinion ID: 4554028
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Davila’s Testimony

Text: The IJ found credible Davila’s removal hearing testimony—a finding that the BIA accepted without qualification. We therefore accept the following facts from DAVILA V. BARR 5 her testimony as true. See Ming Dai v. Sessions, 884 F.3d 858, 870 (9th Cir. 2018) (“[W]e are required to treat a petitioner’s testimony as credible when the agency does not make an adverse credibility finding . . . .”). Davila is a native and citizen of Nicaragua. In 2006, she entered into a relationship with Cevilla, who manages several hotels owned by his father. After a few months, Davila and her son from a previous relationship, Yadher, moved into Cevilla’s house. Approximately a year into their relationship, Cevilla began abusing Davila. In February 2007, Cevilla returned home late one evening. He was drunk and pounded on the door. Davila, who had been asleep, believed he had his keys and did not immediately get up. When Davila eventually answered the door, Cevilla accused her of hiding another man in the house. He pulled her hair, hit her in the face, threw her to the ground, and beat her in the stomach. Davila protested that she had not done anything wrong. After neighbors, hearing Davila’s screams, knocked on the door, Cevilla stopped the abuse and went to bed. The next day, he apologized. The beating left Davila with stomach pain. In March 2007, Davila went with her mother to the doctor, who informed her that she had been pregnant. The doctor told her that the blows to her stomach had led to the death of her twomonth-old fetus, and that she urgently needed an operation due to infection. The doctor removed her dead fetus and performed a hysterectomy. A day after the surgery, Cevilla visited Davila, “supposedly . . . very worried.” 6 DAVILA V. BARR A month later, the abuse resumed. Cevilla, drunk again, slapped Davila in the face, hit her stomach, and threw her down, saying it was her fault she had lost the baby. The beatings became more regular, escalating to about twice a month. Cevilla began raping her. Cevilla threatened that if Davila left him, he would harm her son. During one night of abuse, a next-door neighbor yelled to Davila, instructing her to call the police or else Cevilla would kill her. Davila called the police several times but got no answer. She continued to call, and eventually someone answered and sent two officers. Davila watched as Cevilla went out to meet them, talked with them, and gave them money in the form of bills. The officers left without speaking to Davila. After that, “[i]t was worse,” Davila testified. Cevilla taunted Davila, handing her the phone and saying “‘go ahead, call the police, call them.’” Davila testified: “He knew that he paid the police off and he knew that . . . I couldn’t do anything.” While Cevilla was at work the next day, Davila went to a neighbor’s and called her mother, telling her about the incident. Davila did not attempt to call the police again. The abuse continued for years. Cevilla did not allow Davila to work. She had no money of her own. She had no friends. Davila testified: “It was like a hell. . . . I was always locked inside, no telephone. But . . . my son [Yadher] lived with us and [Cevilla] paid for my son’s education. . . . I just lost all my willpower. I just felt like I didn’t know what to do.” In 2012, Davila’s mother made several attempts to locate Yadher’s father. Her mother eventually contacted him and explained Davila’s situation, telling him that Yadher’s life DAVILA V. BARR 7 was in danger and that Davila needed help. The father, who had been in Switzerland, returned to Nicaragua and took Yadher to stay with his family. The same day, Davila left Cevilla and traveled by bus to her mother. Knowing that Cevilla would come look for her at her mother’s house, Davila stayed with her mother’s neighbor. Indeed, her first night there, Cevilla went to her mother’s house, kicking the door and searching the house for Davila. Cevilla returned several different times, “pound[ing] on the door [and] scream[ing] at people,” looking for Davila. After evading Cevilla for two months, Davila needed money, and found work in a small restaurant. Two weeks later, Cevilla came to the restaurant. He pulled Davila out by her arm, took her to a motel, and beat and raped her. He told her that she had to come back to him, and that if she did not he would kill her. While Cevilla was showering, Davila escaped. Davila quit her job at the restaurant but sought other jobs. However, Davila testified, “Whenever I found another job, he’d always go to the job. . . . He would scream in front of people that [I] was [a] filthy prostitute. And I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t go back to those places.” Every time Cevilla found Davila, he took her to a hotel, beat her, and raped her. Davila endured this for two years. Her son, Yadher, visited her intermittently. During one of those visits, Cevilla found them and demanded that Davila leave with him. Davila refused. Standing next to Yadher, who was watching television, Cevilla drew a knife. Over protestations from Yadher, Davila left with Cevilla. Davila testified: 8 DAVILA V. BARR He took me to the motel that night. He beat me up like never before. He raped me many different ways, and then he threw me out into the street. He left me out on the street at dawn, and I was beaten up like nothing. When I got to the house, my mother saw my — I was bleeding all over the place. She said, that’s too much, dear. My mother said she didn’t know what to do. She was desperate. . . . My mother is the one that decided to get me out of the country. She preferred to see me far away than see me dead. Davila’s mother then “made it her business to send” Davila to the United States. She mortgaged her home to pay for a smuggler to transport Davila to the border. On February 20, 2015, Davila left Nicaragua. She presented herself at the Port of San Ysidro on March 3, 2015. Cevilla continued to harass Davila’s family, looking for her and throwing rocks at her mother’s house. Cevilla now knows that Davila is in the United States and is “waiting for [her] to go back.” Davila’s brother, who works with Cevilla, also harasses their mother about Davila’s whereabouts. Davila testified that she fears that if she is sent back to Nicaragua, “they will kill me.”