Opinion ID: 4564884
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Particular Social Group and Harm Rising to

Text: the Level of Persecution JR, like the petitioner in Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder, 707 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc), is an El Salvadoran witness who testified in court against gang members. We held in Henriquez-Rivas that such persons are members of a particular social group, given “significant evidence that Salvadoran society recognizes the unique vulnerability of people who testify against gang members in criminal proceedings.” Id. at 1092. We have held that far less serious harm than that JR suffered rises to the level of persecution. See, e.g., Surita v. INS, 95 F.3d 814, 819–20 (9th Cir. 1996) (holding petitioner established past persecution where she had been robbed multiple times over the course of one week); Artiga Turcios v. INS, 829 F.2d 720, 722–24 (9th Cir. 1987) (holding petitioner established past persecution where neighbor relayed men had been looking for him and “warned him to leave because he might be killed”); Mihalev v. Ashcroft, 388 J.R. V. BARR 15 F.3d 722, 729 (9th Cir. 2004) (holding petitioner established past persecution where he was jailed for ten days and beaten, but had not “suffered a significant injury”); see also Baballah v. Ashcroft, 367 F.3d 1067, 1074, 1076 (9th Cir. 2004) (“Threats and attacks can constitute persecution even where an applicant has not been beaten or physically harmed. . . . An applicant may suffer persecution because of the cumulative impact of several incidents even where no single incident would constitute persecution on its own.”). However, the BIA did not reach the questions whether JR is a member of a particular social group or whether he suffered harm that rises to the level of persecution. Under INS v. Ventura, we cannot ourselves decide those questions in the first instance. 537 U.S. 12, 16–18 (2002) (per curiam). We are therefore obliged to remand JR’s petition to the BIA for further proceedings. JR was incarcerated from the date of his arrival in the United States in December 2017 until May 2020, waiting for his application to be adjudicated. He has recently been released after being determined, based on his medical records, to face a “higher risk of serious illness due to COVID-19.” Dkt. No. 45. We are not in a position to dictate the manner and speed in which JR’s application is handled on remand. However, given the circumstances of this case, we encourage the government and the BIA to act expeditiously in resolving the issues that remain.