HENRIQUEZ PAIZ v. WHITAKER (2019)

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Dinora Henriquez-Paiz, a native and citizen of El Salvador, appeals the denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1). Because substantial evidence supports the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision, we deny the petition.

Because Henriquez-Paiz conceded at oral argument that she has not demonstrated past persecution, she is not entitled to a presumption of future persecution. 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b)(2). Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that Henriquez-Paiz failed to show that she has a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of her family membership. Despite receiving several threatening notes from MS-13 gang members, Henriquez-Paiz’s family was never harmed. As the BIA explained, the fact that her family remained safe “undercuts the reasonableness of [her] fear of future harm.”

Because Henriquez-Paiz failed to show that she is entitled to asylum, she cannot meet the higher standard for withholding of removal. See 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(b) (requiring that the risk of future persecution be more likely than not).

Finally, substantial evidence supports the BIA’s denial of CAT relief because Henriquez-Paiz failed to show that she would more likely than not be subjected to torture upon her return to El Salvador. She has never been tortured in the past, and her family has remained safe despite receiving similar threats.

PETITION DENIED.