SANDRA MARTINEZ-DE SERRANO V. ERIC HOLDER, JR., No. 11-71767 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
FILED JAN 30 2015 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT SANDRA ELIZABETH MARTINEZ-DE SERRANO, No. 11-71767 Agency No. A098-895-498 Petitioner, MEMORANDUM* v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted January 21, 2015** Before: CANBY, GOULD, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges. Sandra Elizabeth Martinez-De Serrano, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing her appeal from the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny in part and grant in part the petition for review, and we remand. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s denial of CAT relief because Martinez-De Serrano failed to show it is more likely than not that she would be tortured by the government of El Salvador, or with its consent or acquiescence. See Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir. 2008). In denying Martinez-De Serrano’s asylum and withholding of removal claims, however, the agency found Martinez-De Serrano failed to establish a nexus to a protected ground. When the IJ and BIA issued their decisions in this case, they did not have the benefit of this court’s decisions in Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder, 707 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc), Cordoba v. Holder, 726 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2013), and Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2014), or the BIA’s decisions in Matter of M-E-V-G-, 26 I. & N. Dec. 227 (BIA 2014), and Matter of W-G-R-, 26 I. & N. Dec. 208 (BIA 2014). Thus, we remand MartinezDe Serrano’s asylum and withholding of removal claims to determine the impact, if any, of these decisions. See INS v. Ventura, 537 U.S. 12, 16-18 (2002) (per curiam). In light of this remand, we do not reach Martinez-De Serrano’s remaining 2 11-71767 challenges to the agency’s denial of her asylum and withholding claims at this time. Respondent’s motion to hold this case in abeyance is denied. PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part; GRANTED in part; REMANDED. 3 11-71767
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
