Belkis Corea Escoto v. Merrick B. Garland

Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit·Decided July 2, 2021·No. 20-3252·Unpublished

Opinion

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 21a0310n.06

Nos. 19-3537/20-3252

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

FILED

BELKIS WALESKA COREA ESCOTO; HECTOR ) Jul 02, 2021 )

ADONYS MUNOZ COREA, DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk )

)

Petitioners, ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW ) FROM THE UNITED STATES v.

) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION ) APPEALS MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, )

)

Respondent.

)

Before: STRANCH, BUSH, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges.

LARSEN, Circuit Judge. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated removal proceedings against Belkis Waleska Corea Escoto and her son.1 Corea then applied for asylum on behalf of herself and her son, and withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) for herself. The immigration judge (IJ) and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denied relief and ordered Corea and her son removed to Honduras. Corea also sought administrative closure of her proceedings, or at least a continuance of them, until her pending application for a U visa was resolved. The IJ and BIA denied her requests. Corea timely petitioned for review (Docket No. 19-3537). While her petition was pending in this court, Corea sought reconsideration of the BIA’s decision. The BIA denied her motion for reconsideration, and

1 Petitioner refers to herself as “Corea” in her briefing, so we do the same. While Corea’s youngest son is also a party to this proceeding, we do not address his case separately because his case is derivative of Corea’s.

she petitioned for review (Docket No. 20-3252). We consolidated the petitions. For the reasons stated, we GRANT in part and DENY in part Corea’s petition in Docket No. 19-3537 and DISMISS in part and DENY in part Corea’s petition in Docket No. 20-3252. We REMAND to the BIA for further proceedings.

I.

Corea is a native and citizen of Honduras. She has three minor children who are also Honduran natives and citizens. We refer to the children as L., A., and H. Corea also has a son born in the United States after the conclusion of her removal proceedings before the IJ; this son is a United States citizen.

In early 2016, Corea fled Honduras with her youngest Honduran-born son, H., and entered the United States without authorization. DHS later initiated removal proceedings against Corea and H., filing Notices to Appear that alleged that Corea and H. were removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) as aliens who, “at the time of application for admission, [were] not in possession of a valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing card, or other valid entry document required by the [Immigration and Nationality] Act.”

Before the IJ, Corea conceded removability but sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT. Her application alleged that, while in Honduras, she had been threatened and extorted by a man named El Pollo, who approached her while she was selling candy by her house; claiming that he was “the one who collects the rent,” El Pollo demanded 5,000 lempiras per month. Because of this threat, Corea quit her business selling candy and fled to the United States with H. She said that she was scared to go back because “[i]f they find me, they would kill me because they are mad I escaped them. They would be mad because I left instead of paying; or they would kill me because I can’t pay.” She also alleged:

On December 22, 2008, when I was about 6 months pregnant with my middle child, [A.], his father was murdered by members of MS[-13]. He was a taxi driver, which was a really dangerous job during this time because of gang problems. . . . After my partner was murdered, his cousin’s friend said that the men who killed him were looking for me because I was “his woman” and I was pregnant with his child.

Finally, Corea alleged that her stepfather, “who was a member of the national police force in Honduras, was assassinated by MS[-13] in 2006,” about six months after he had been released from jail, “where he had been for two years because of an assault he was alleged to have committed with a group of other people.” Corea asserted, “I know that the men who were involved with my step-father’s death are the same ones who work with El Pollo because I recognize them from back then. They know who I am, and they know about my step-father.”

Before Corea had a hearing on her applications, she moved to administratively close the removal proceedings while she applied for a “U visa,” pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U). U visas are “set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.” Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-of-human-trafficking-and- other-crimes/victims-of-criminal-activity-u-nonimmigrant-status (last visited June 30, 2021). Corea sought U visa status for herself and her children based on alleged abuse suffered at the hands of H.’s father, Hector Munoz. Corea had been living in the Memphis, Tennessee area with Munoz, who had become physically abusive and controlling. Corea told the Memphis police that Munoz had “pulled her to the ground by her hair and threatened to take her son.” After this incident, Corea moved out of the home with her children and obtained a protective order against Munoz. Corea said that the Memphis police “certified [her] as a victim of domestic violence who cooperated in the investigation.” Corea asserted that administrative closure of her removal proceedings was

appropriate because if she obtained lawful status through a U visa, she could request termination of the removal proceedings.

The Attorney General opposed administrative closure, arguing that Corea would not be prejudiced by moving forward with the removal proceedings because she could “seek U Visa status before [the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)] even if she is subject to a final order of removal, or if she is outside of the United States.” And, according to the Attorney General, “In the event a removal order is entered against [Corea], she may request a stay of removal with USCIS . . . , and if her U visa application is granted, she will attain lawful status that will allow her to remain in the United States.” Corea did not dispute either point. The case was then assigned to a new IJ, who denied Corea’s motion for administrative closure, stating that she “agree[d] with the reasons stated in the opposition to the motion.”

The new IJ then held a hearing on the merits of Corea’s applications. Corea was the only witness. She elaborated on the allegations in her applications. At the end of the hearing, Corea renewed her motion for administrative closure, and the Attorney General again opposed the motion. The IJ reserved her decision.

The IJ denied Corea’s applications for relief. With respect to the claims for asylum and withholding of removal, the IJ concluded that Corea could not establish a well-founded fear of future persecution. The IJ determined that Corea could not show that the government was unable or unwilling to assist her. She also concluded that Corea’s claims of fear were not objectively reasonable and that she had failed to establish a nexus between the alleged future persecution and a protected ground. The IJ also determined that Corea was not eligible for CAT protection because she made no claim that the police or a government official would be involved in any harm that

might come to her. As a result, the IJ denied Corea’s requests for relief and ordered her removed to Honduras. The IJ did not address Corea’s renewed motion for administrative closure.

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