Dora Mejia Castellano v. William Barr, U. S


Case: 19-60223 Document: 00515282574 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/23/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED January 23, 2020 No. 19-60223 Lyle W. Cayce Summary Calendar Clerk DORA JACKELINE MEJIA CASTELLANO; JENNIFER JACKELINE LARIOS MEJIA; XOCHIL ABIGAIL LARIOS MEJIA; BRYAN JAHAZIEL LARIOS MEJIA; STEVEN JAVIER LARIOS MEJIA; FRANCISCO J. LARIOS CASTRO, also known as Francisco Javier Larios Castro, Petitioners v. WILLIAM P. BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A206 316 207 BIA No. A206 316 208 BIA No. A206 316 209 BIA No. A206 316 210 BIA No. A206 316 211 BIA No. A206 316 212 Before BARKSDALE, HAYNES, and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Petitioners seek review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) dismissal of their appeal of an immigration judge’s (IJ) denial of their * Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4. Case: 19-60223 Document: 00515282574 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/23/2020 No. 19-60223 application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). They contend, inter alia: the IJ lacked jurisdiction over the removal proceedings because the Notices to Appear (NTAs) issued to them were defective, which rendered the removal proceedings a violation of due process; and the BIA erred in concluding they were not entitled to the relief sought. The Government contends petitioners failed to exhaust their CAT and due-process claims. It further contends the NTAs were sufficient and the BIA was correct in determining petitioners were not entitled to relief. In 2013, lead petitioner Dora Jackeline Mejia Castellano, a native and citizen of Honduras, attempted to enter the United States along with her husband Francisco J. Larios Castro and her children Jennifer Jackeline Larios Mejia, Xochil Abigail Larios Mejia, Bryan Jahaziel Larios Mejia, and Steven Javier Larios Mejia. The Department of Homeland Security served them with NTAs, stating they were removable because they lacked valid entry documents. Petitioners conceded the charges, and an IJ consolidated their proceedings and sustained the charges. Castellano applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief, designating her husband and children as derivative beneficiaries. In proceedings before the IJ, Castellano was the only witness to testify. She testified: she actively supported a political party in Honduras; after she left a campaign event one night with her husband and youngest child, members of an opposing party approached, began to insult them, and ripped her shirt, which indicated her support for her party’s candidate for the presidency; they warned her not to show up for an upcoming election “because if [she] did they were going to do something”; Castellano reported this incident to police; two or three nights later, she and her husband were awoken by neighbors yelling there were people outside their house; when the ...

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