Herrera

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Patricia Coral Herrera seeks review of the BIA’s denial of her request for asylum and withholding of removal. In support of her claim, petitioner alleged, among other things, that she was the victim of an attempted kidnaping and that she received threatening phone calls-both of which were apparently related to her engagement to a police officer, Lieutenant Guido Sanchez. Lieutenant Sanchez fought against guerillas in areas of Colombia that had a significant guerilla presence. Petitioner also testified that her family’s chauffeur was murdered and that her uncle disappeared. Further, petitioner testified that her father came upon burglars in their house and chased them away, and that later the burglars apparently called and threatened to kill him.

The IJ found that petitioner was not persecuted by guerrillas in Colombia. In reaching this conclusion, the IJ stated that there was no indication as to the identities of the persons who called petitioner and threatened to kill or otherwise harm her in retaliation for her then-fiancé’s police activities. However, the IJ apparently misunderstood or ignored petitioner’s testimony at the hearing and her statement in…