De Leon De Leon v. Gonzales
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Luzvin Osmin De Leon De Leon, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of his motion to reopen removal proceedings, in which he applied for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . Reviewing for abuse of discretion, Singh v. INS, 213 F.3d 1050, 1052 (9th Cir.2000), we grant the petition for review and remand for further proceedings.
The BIA rested its determination that De Leon De Leon’s case does not merit reopening on three grounds. That “none of the attached evidence pertains specifically to” De Leon De Leon does not preclude him from establishing a well-founded fear of persecution. See, e.g., Arriaga-Barrientos v. INS, 937 F.2d 411, 414 (9th Cir.1991). Moreover, De Leon De Leon’s “fail[ure] to establish that if a threat from the guerillas indeed exists, that the threat is countrywide” does not justify the denial of reopening. See Melkonian v. Ashcroft, 320 F.3d 1061, 1069 (9th Cir.2003) (“An applicant need not demonstrate a country-wide threat of persecution in order to qualify for asylum.”); 8 C.F.R. § 208.13 (b)(2)(ii).