Manuel-Francisco v. Gonzales
Manuel-Francisco v. Gonzales
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Feliza Martina Manuel-Francisco, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of an Immigration Judge’s denial of her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review the BIA’s decision for substantial evidence, INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481, 112 S.Ct. 812, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992), and we grant the petition and remand to the BIA.
Substantial evidence does not support the BIA’s finding that petitioner failed to establish past persecution based on an enumerated ground. Petitioner’s brother was forcibly conscripted by the guerrillas in Guatemala. In 1992, he left the guerril
We conclude that petitioner established past persecution, giving rise to a rebuttable presumption of a well-founded fear of persecution. See Tawadrus v. Ashcroft, 364 F.3d 1099, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004). Accordingly, we grant the petition for review and remand to the BIA to give the Attorney General an opportunity to rebut this presumption and for the BIA to consider whether petitioner qualifies for relief. See INS v. Ventura, 537 U.S. 12, 123 S.Ct. 353, 154 L.Ed.2d 272 (2002) (per curiam); Lopez v. Ashcroft, 366 F.3d 799, 805-07 (9th Cir. 2004).
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.