Cojon-Perez

MEMORANDUM **

Pilar Cojon-Perez (“Cojon-Perez”), a Guatemalan citizen, appeals from a final order of removal by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). We find sufficient evidence in the record to deny asylum and withholding of removal in this case and therefore affirm.

Cojon-Perez is eligible for a discretionary grant of asylum from the Attorney General if she can establish that she is a “refugee,” defined as an individual unable or unwilling to return to her country because of “a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42). Cojon-Perez asserts that she is eligible for asylum because she has a well-founded fear of persecution based on her membership in a particular social group. In support of this claim, CojonPerez primarily asserts that, in 1979, guerillas stole from her and threatened to kill her if she did not provide them with large sums of money.

On March 4, 1999, following a deportation hearing, an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied Cojon-Perez’s application for asylum and withholding of deportation. The IJ made an adverse credibility finding…