Valiente-Herrera

AMENDED MEMORANDUM **

Norma Yesenia Valiente-Herrera’s husband was kidnaped from a bus stop near their home. No word of him or from him has ever been received. Soon afterward, his supposed kidnapers, believed to be guerillas, threatened Valiente-Herrera, then attempted to abduct her in the same manner. They also attempted to abduct her two-year-old son by trying to wrest him from her arms on a street near their home. The immigration judge (IJ) denied asylum, holding in part that ValienteHerrera did not show past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution. 1 The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) summarily affirmed. We grant the petition for review and reverse.

The long history of anti-government guerrillas terrorizing innocent eitizens in Guatemala on account of actual or imputed political opinion is well-established. See, e.g., Garcia-Martinez v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 1066, 1074-75 (9th Cir.2004) (“The human rights abuses that took place during Guatemala’s decades-long civil war have been well-documented.”); Rios v. Ashcroft, 287 F.3d 895, 898-901 (9th Cir. 2002) (holding that Guatemalan guerrillas abducted petitioner on account of imputed political opinion because…