Lopez-Galarza
Lopez-Galarza v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Opinion by Judge MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS; Concurrence by Judge BEEZER.
MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS, Circuit Judge:
Mercedes Lina Lopez-Galarza and her son, Raul Jose Hemandez-Lopez, petition for review of the final order of deportation of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“the BIA”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a), and we grant the petition. We hold that Lopez-Galarza has demonstrated past persecution sufficient to establish eligibility for asylum, and we remand to the BIA for a determination of whether she and her son are entitled to asylum as a matter of discretion.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Petitioner is a 32-year-old native and citizen of Nicaragua. Her 7-year-old son seeks derivative asylee status pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (c). Lopez-Galarza and her son concede deportability under 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (a)(1)(B) (entry without inspection), but seek asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (a) or withholding of deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1253 (h) based on the experiences of Lopez-Galarza and her family.
Lopez-Galarza’s father, Julio Alfredo Lopez, was an officer of the National Guard during the Somoza era. Because of his affiliation with the Somoza regime, the…
Concurring Opinion
Beezer, J.
concurring:
The BIA failed to adequately consider Lopez-Galarza’s claim of past persecution at the hands of Sandinista authorities. Ka *964 zlauskas v. INS, 46 F.3d 902, 906 (9th Cir.1995). I concur in the judgment of the court.