CA2 on Unable or Unwilling to Control: Castellanos-Ventura v. Garland

Castellanos-Ventura v. Garland

"Petitioner Bessy Orbelina Castellanos-Ventura, a native and citizen of Honduras, seeks review of an April 19, 2021 decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming a February 26, 2019 decision of an Immigration Judge (IJ) denying her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). In re Bessy Orbelina Castellanos-Ventura, No. A206 488 725 (B.I.A. Apr. 19, 2021), aff’g No. A206 488 725 (Immig. Ct. N.Y.C. Feb. 26, 2019). The agency assumed without deciding that Castellanos-Ventura had suffered past persecution on account of her membership in a cognizable social group of Honduran women and was abused as a child for much of the time relevant to this petition. It nevertheless denied her asylum claim because it found that Castellanos-Ventura failed to show that the Honduran government was “unable or unwilling to control” her persecutors. We agree with Castellanos-Ventura that the agency incorrectly applied the “unable or unwilling to control” standard in this case. First, the agency failed to consider whether it would have been futile for an abused child to seek protection from the Honduran government. Second, the agency failed to consider significant record evidence that the Honduran government was unable to protect children or women from intrafamilial and criminal violence. The petition for review is therefore GRANTED, and the case is REMANDED to the BIA for proceedings consistent with this opinion.1 Our decision in this matter originally appeared in an unpublished summary order issued on July 11, 2024. Castellanos-Ventura subsequently moved to have our decision published. Because we are persuaded that this decision may be helpful to guide future cases if it has some precedential value, we grant the motion and publish our disposition."

[Hats off to H. Esteban Figueroa-Brusi!]