RAMOS GOMEZ v. GARLAND (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.2021-08-02No. No. 20-3661

Summary · law.co

Holding. The petition for review was denied, affirming the immigration judge's and Board of Immigration Appeals' rejection of the asylum application.

Julia Judith Ramos-Gomez, a Guatemalan citizen, applied for asylum for herself and her two minor sons based on her membership in a proposed social group of single Guatemalan mothers with young children. An immigration judge rejected her asylum claim, and the Board of Immigration Appeals summarily affirmed without issuing a written opinion. Ramos-Gomez then sought judicial review of that decision.

The court examined whether substantial evidence supported the immigration judge's finding that Ramos-Gomez failed to establish a reasonable fear of persecution tied to a protected ground. The court concluded that a reasonable fact finder could determine her feared harm stemmed from generalized violence in Guatemala rather than persecution based on group membership. The court also noted that her two-plus years living in Guatemala as a single mother without experiencing harm suggested her fear was not objectively reasonable. The court therefore upheld the denial of her asylum petition.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

Whether applicant established membership in a cognizable particular social group
Whether applicant demonstrated objectively reasonable fear of persecution on a protected ground
Whether feared harm resulted from generalized violence rather than persecution based on group membership

Procedural posture

An immigration judge denied the asylum application, the Board of Immigration Appeals summarily affirmed, and the applicant petitioned for judicial review.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion · public domain

[Unpublished]

Guatemalan native and citizen Julia Judith Ramos-Gomez (Ramos-Gomez) sought asylum, individually and on behalf of her minor sons, Auner Neymar Ramos-Gomez and Yeison Alexander Bama-Ramos, based on her membership in a proposed particular social group defined as “single Guatemalan mothers of young children.”

An immigration judge denied her asylum application, and the Board of Immigration Appeals summarily affirmed the result, without an opinion. Ramos-Gomez petitions for review.

Having reviewed the record, we conclude substantial evidence supports the determination that Ramos-Gomez failed to demonstrate an objectively reasonable fear of particularized persecution on account of a protected ground. See Lemus-Arita v. Sessions, 854 F.3d 476, 482-83 (8th Cir. 2017) (standard of review). A reasonable fact finder could conclude, as the immigration judge did, that the harm Ramos-Gomez feared resulted from generalized violence, and that her fear was not objectively reasonable because she remained unharmed in Guatemala as a single mother with young children for over two years before leaving. See id. at 482; Al Yatim v. Mukasey, 531 F.3d 584, 588-89 (8th Cir. 2008). Accordingly, we deny the petition for review.

FOOTNOTES

. Ramos-Gomezs sons were derivative applicants on her asylum application. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(3)(A). Ramos-Gomez concedes she does not seek withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

PER CURIAM.