Guardianship of Saul H.

Opinion of the Court by Groban, J.

Saul H. left his native El Salvador at the age of 16, fleeing gang violence. Saul’s parents started sending him to work in the fields in the summers when he was 10 years old. When Saul was 15, his parents made him stop going to school after gang members twice approached him outside of class, attempted to recruit him, and when he refused to join, threatened to kill him and his family. Saul then got a job to help provide food for his family, but a gang member approached him there too, threatening to “disappear” him unless he paid a gang “tax.” Saul eventually left El Salvador on his own, against the wishes of his parents. In the United States, a distant relative took Saul in and agreed to serve as his guardian. Saul petitioned the probate court to issue the predicate findings he needs to support an application to the federal government for special immigrant juvenile status, which allows qualifying immigrants under the age of 21 to seek lawful permanent residence. (Code Civ. Proc., § 155 (section 155); 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J).) In support of his petition, Saul submitted a declaration describing the dangers and deprivations he faces in El…