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Keywords

burden of proofwilldomestic violenceasylum
willdomestic violenceasylum

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Sanchez-Amador v. Garland

Facts

Rosaura Aurora Sanchez-Amador, a native and citizen of Honduras, sought asylum in the United States after being charged with removability. She testified about her experiences of sexual abuse and threats from the MS-13 gang, which demanded money from her. Despite reporting threats to the police, she fled before they could complete their investigation. The immigration judge found her credible but determined she did not meet the requirements for asylum, as she failed to demonstrate that the government was unable or unwilling to act on her behalf.

Sanchez-Amador believed that the police would not help her unless she could provide a video, photograph, or other physical evidence. She also testified that Honduran police often do not act on sexual assault claims, that her mother and aunt also suffered sexual assaults, and that Honduran women in general are vulnerable to sexual assault due to a culture of 'machismo.'

Issue

Did Sanchez-Amador establish that the government of Honduras was unable or unwilling to control the alleged persecutors, thereby qualifying her for asylum?

whether an applicant's subjective belief that authorities would be unwilling or unable to help them is sufficient for asylum eligibility when paired with country condition evidence supporting that belief, notwithstanding that the underlying events do not support that conclusion.

Rule

To obtain asylum, an applicant must demonstrate that they are a 'refugee' under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which includes showing past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground, and that the authorities are 'unable or unwilling to control' the persecutors.

To obtain asylum, Sanchez-Amador must demonstrate that she is a 'refugee' within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act . 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42) ; 8 C.F.R. 1208.13 . She can do so by showing that she has suffered past persecution or has a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground.

Analysis

The court applied the rule by examining whether Sanchez-Amador's claims met the legal standard for asylum. It noted that while she presented evidence of ineffective authorities in combating domestic violence, her failure to report the abuse to the police undermined her claim. The court concluded that her subjective belief about the futility of reporting did not suffice to establish the government's inability or unwillingness to help her.

True, Sanchez-Amador has presented substantial country condition evidence speaking to how ineffective the authorities have been at combatting domestic violence. But one would be hard-pressed to find that the authorities were unable or unwilling to help her if she never gave them the opportunity to do so.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the BIA's decision, concluding that substantial evidence supported the finding that Sanchez-Amador did not establish the necessary criteria for asylum.

Because the BIA found that she did not make that showing, and because substantial evidence supports that finding, we DENY the petition for review.

Who won?

The government prevailed in the case because the court found that Sanchez-Amador did not meet the burden of proof required to demonstrate that the Honduran authorities were unable or unwilling to protect her.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA's finding that Sanchez-Amador did not establish that the government is unable or unwilling to control the alleged persecutors.

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