Pascual-Miguel v. Garland, No. 23-1072 (8th Cir. 2023)
Annotate this CaseGuatemalan citizens Miguel Pascual-Miguel and his daughter, Erika Gabriela Pascual-Miguel, sought review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) decision affirming the denial of their asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture requests by an immigration judge. They also sought review of the BIA’s denial of motions to reopen for ineffective assistance of counsel and Mendez Rojas class membership. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied the petition, affirming the BIA's decisions. The court held that the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief was supported by substantial evidence. Specifically, the court noted that the petitioners failed to show any evidence of persecutory motive related to their home in Guatemala being burned down, as they didn't know who did it or why. The court also held that the BIA's denial of the motions to reopen was not an abuse of discretion. The court noted that the attorney's misconduct did not prejudice the outcome of the removal proceedings and that the petitioners failed to demonstrate a nexus between the harm suffered and any protected ground, even if they were members of the Mendez Rojas class.
Court Description: [Benton, Author, with Colloton and Wollman, Circuit Judges] Petition for Review - Immigration. The IJ's decision to deny withholding of removal and CAT protection was supported by substantial evidence; the BIA properly denied petitioner's two motions to reopen, one based on ineffective assistance of counsel and the other on Mendez Rojas class membership; petitioner was not prejudiced by counsel's performance and petitioner failed to show any nexus between the harm suffered and any protected ground.
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.