Maldonado-Castro

MEMORANDUM **

Nelson Maldonado-Castro and his wife Seyda Mejia-Almendarez, natives and citizens of Honduras, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming, without opinion, the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of their applications for asylum and withholding of removal. This Court has jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . This Court reviews the denial of asylum for substantial evidence, Reyes-Guerrero v. I.N.S., 192 F.3d 1241, 1244 (9th Cir.1999), and reviews claims of due process violations in immigration proceedings de novo, Lopez-Urenda v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 788, 791 (9th Cir.2003). We grant the petition for review, and remand for further proceedings.

The IJ’s finding that Petitioners failed to establish persecution on account of one of the enumerated grounds for asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A) is not supported by substantial evidence. Through credible testimony, petitioner Maldonado-Castro established that there was a causal connection between his persecution by Honduran military officers, and his political opinion as an investigator and whistle-blower against Army corruption. Cf. Reyes-Guerrero, 192 F.3d at 1245-46 . “[Wjhere…