Orozco-Ceron

MEMORANDUM

Sisters Leidi Marilis Orozco-Ceron and Marta Lidia Orozco-Ceron, natives and citizens of Guatemala, petition for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA adopted and affirmed the Immigration Judge’s denial of their applications for asylum and withholding of deportation. Petitioners alleged that they faced persecution because their uncle was shot and killed by the military or by guerrillas, and that their father was threatened by a military commander for his investigation into their uncle’s murder.

To establish their eligibility for asylum, the Orozco-Cerons had to demonstrate that they were persecuted, or have a well founded fear of persecution, in Guatemala on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or their political opinion. See INA *219 § 208, 8 U.S.C. § 1158 . 3 The strength of the Orozco-Cerons’ asylum petitions are largely dependent on the credibility given to their key witnesses, Julio Orozco and Sergio Cerón, who testified on behalf of the Orozco-Cerons. The Immigration Judge determines whether witnesses are credible, and such credibility determinations are accorded substantial…