Saldivar-Lopez

MEMORANDUM ***

Alma Isabel Saldivar-Lopez (“Petitioner”) seeks review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) that denied her applications for asylum and withholding of removal. Petitioner argues that the BIA failed to adequately explain the basis for its decision. Petitioner also maintains that the facts showed past persecution based on a political opinion imputed to Petitioner and that she is entitled, based on that past persecution, to a presumption that she has a well-founded fear of future persecution. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) insists that the BIA’s findings provided adequate explanations and that the BIA’s decision is supported by substantial evidence.

The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied Petitioner’s request for asylum and withholding of deportation. She found the testimony of Petitioner and Petitioner’s father to be credible. However, she concluded that on their version of the facts there was not enough to establish past persecution. The IJ also found that while Petitioner had a subjective fear of returning to Mexico, she did not have an objective, well-founded fear of future persecution based on a protected ground.

After…