Dominguez Ojeda v. Garland

Background Dominguez Ojeda is a native and citizen of Peru. In 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a notice of intent to reinstate his prior removal order. Dominguez Ojeda expressed fear of returning to Peru, and an asylum officer conducted a reasonable fear screening interview to determine whether Dominguez Ojeda should be given the opportunity to establish his claims at a merits hearing before an IJ. Dominguez Ojeda told the asylum officer that he left Peru because members of Peru Libre, a political group, physically harmed and threatened him, his dog, and his house. He discussed five incidents. He explained that he first encountered the group in 2022 when they were protesting in front of his home, and his dog bit one of the protestors. The protesters yelled at Dominguez Ojeda, and he later received a phone call from an unknown person demanding compensation for the dog bite. The second incident occurred when a group of people threw stones at him while on his way home from work and called him “el pituco,” a nickname in Peru for someone with status and money. The third incident consisted of Dominguez Ojeda’s finding an obituary card with his name on it that…