Court Opinion

ID: 9917343
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-12 01:01:05.922582+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:02:24.483018
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-60287        Document: 00517030420             Page: 1      Date Filed: 01/11/2024

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________                                    United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                              Fifth Circuit

                                      No. 23-60287
                                                                                            FILED
                                                                                     January 11, 2024
                                     ____________
                                                                                       Lyle W. Cayce
   Maria De La Cruz Dominguez-Alvarado,                                                     Clerk

                                                                                Petitioner,

                                            versus

   Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General,

                                                                               Respondent.
                     ______________________________

                    Appeal from the Board of Immigration Appeals
                              Agency No. A206 422 916
                     ______________________________

   Before Jolly, Engelhardt, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Maria De La Cruz Dominguez-Alvarado is a citizen of Honduras who
   illegally entered this country. When the government initiated this removal
   action, Dominguez-Alvarado conceded removability, but she applied for
   asylum, withholding, and protection under the Convention Against Torture.
   She alleged that she feared being harmed in Honduras due to her status as a
   woman and her resistance to criminal gangs. Nevertheless, an immigration

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-60287      Document: 00517030420           Page: 2    Date Filed: 01/11/2024

                                     No. 23-60287

   judge ordered her removal and denied her application, which the Board of
   Immigration Appeals affirmed on appeal. She now appeals that order and
   moves to dismiss the underlying removal action without prejudice. Both her
   appeal and motion are DENIED.

          Because the BIA affirmed the immigration judge’s decision without
   opinion, we will review the order under the substantial evidence test as
   established by the Supreme Court in INS v. Elias–Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481
   (1992). Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2005). Under this
   standard, reversal is improper unless we decide, not only that the evidence
   supports a contrary conclusion, but also that the evidence compels it. Id.
   (quotation removed).

          On appeal, Dominguez-Alvarado has abandoned her asylum and
   withholding claims, because she did not demonstrate that the Honduran
   government could not or would not protect her from persecution on account
   of a protected ground if she were returned to Honduras. Soadjede v. Ashcroft,
   324 F.3d 830, 833 (5th Cir. 2003). Further, in the absence of evidence that
   she will more likely than not be tortured if repatriated, we are not compelled
   to reverse the denial of her application for protection. Morales v. Sessions, 860
   F.3d 812, 818 (5th Cir. 2017). Finally, her motion fails because she has not
   shown circumstances warranting dismissal of her petition for review without
   prejudice. See FED. R. APP. P. 42(B)(2); 5TH CIR. R. 42.1, 42.4.

          For the foregoing reasons, Dominguez-Alvarado’s petition for review
   and motion for dismissal without prejudice are DENIED.

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