Court Opinion

ID: 9412912
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-01 22:00:39.255536+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:41:32.238465
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-60497        Document: 00516842658             Page: 1      Date Filed: 08/01/2023

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

                                     ____________                              FILED
                                                                          August 1, 2023
                                      No. 22-60497
                                                                          Lyle W. Cayce
                                    Summary Calendar                           Clerk
                                    ____________

   Leila Marlene Portillo-Erazo; Jerald Yariel Najera-
   Portillo; Luis Carlos Najera-Portillo,

                                                                                 Petitioners,

                                            versus

   Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General,

                                                                                Respondent.
                     ______________________________

                        Petition for Review of an Order of the
                            Board of Immigration Appeals
                      Agency Nos. A206 726 568, A206 726 569,
                                     A206 726 570
                     ______________________________

   Before Jones, Haynes, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
         Leila Marlene Portillo-Erazo, a native and citizen of Honduras,
   petitions this court for review of an order of the Board of Immigration
   Appeals (BIA) dismissing her appeal from an order of the Immigration Judge
   (IJ) denying her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-60497         Document: 00516842658            Page: 2      Date Filed: 08/01/2023

                                         No. 22-60497

   under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).1 We review the denial of
   asylum, withholding, and CAT claims for substantial evidence. Zhang v.
   Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2005); Shehu v. Gonzales, 443 F.3d 435,
   441 (5th Cir. 2006). Pursuant to this standard, we may not disturb the BIA’s
   decision unless the evidence “compels” a contrary conclusion. Zhang, 432
   F.3d at 344. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Portillo-Erazo
   has not met this standard.
           With respect to her asylum and withholding claims, she has not shown
   that the evidence compels a conclusion contrary to that of the agency on the
   issue whether she showed past persecution or a well-founded fear of future
   persecution. See id.; see also Jaco v. Garland, 24 F.4th 395, 402 (5th Cir.
   2021); Singh v. Barr, 920 F.3d 255, 259 (5th Cir. 2019); Efe v. Ashcroft, 293
   F.3d 899, 906 (5th Cir. 2002). Because past persecution or a well-founded
   fear of future persecution is an essential element of claims for asylum and
   withholding, she has not met the substantial evidence standard with respect
   to these claims, and there is no need to address her remaining arguments
   concerning these forms of relief. See Singh, 920 F.3d at 259; Zhang, 432 F.3d
   at 344; Jaco, 24 F.4th at 402; Efe, 293 F.3d at 906; INS v. Bagamasbad, 429
   U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (per curiam). Her failure to show past persecution also
   equates to a failure to show that the evidence compels a conclusion contrary
   to that of the BIA on the issue whether she should have received
   humanitarian asylum. See Shehu, 443 F.3d at 440-41.
               Finally, she has not shown that the evidence compels a conclusion
   contrary to that of the agency on the issue whether she more likely than not
   will be tortured with governmental acquiescence if repatriated and thus has

           _____________________
           1
            The other two petitioners are Portillo-Erazo’s minor children and are derivatives
   on her application.

                                                   2
Case: 22-60497      Document: 00516842658          Page: 3   Date Filed: 08/01/2023

                                    No. 22-60497

   not met the substantial evidence standard with respect to her CAT claim. See
   Morales v. Sessions, 860 F.3d 812, 818 (5th Cir. 2017). The petition for review
   is DENIED.

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