Carlos Antonio de Paz-Peraza v. Pamela J. Bondi
Court
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Decided
June 10, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
Importance
48%
Case Summary
In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-2854 CARLOS ANTONIO DE PAZ-PERAZA, Petitioner, v. PAMELA J. BONDI, Attorney General of the United States, Respondent. ____________________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. No. A209-286-063 ____________________ ARGUED APRIL 16, 2025 — DECIDED JUNE 9, 2025 ____________________ Before SYKES, Chief Judge, and ST. EVE and JACKSON- AKIWUMI, Circuit Judges. ST. EVE, Circuit Judge. Carlos Antonio de Paz-Peraza, a cit- izen of El Salvador, challenges the denial of his claims for asy- lum and withholding of removal. De Paz-Peraza sought relief based on threats he received from members of the MS-13 gang in El Salvador. 2 No. 24-2854 Because substantial evidence supports the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) determination that de Paz-Peraza failed to es- tablish a nexus between the persecution he experienced and his proffered social group—young male Salvadorans—we deny his petition. I. Background A. Factual History Between May and July 2016, MS-13 gang members in El Salvador threatened de Paz-Peraza, then 17 years old. They sent him numerous messages demanding that he join the gang or risk his family’s safety. When de Paz-Peraza spoke to his friend, a police officer, about the threats, the officer urged him to leave the country. Gang members also confronted de Paz-Peraza in person. First, in May 2016, they stole his phone and work tools. Then, on two different occasions in early July, they threatened him with a firearm and demanded he join the gang. Gunfire en- sued during the last encounter and both a gang member and de Paz-Peraza’s officer friend were shot. De Paz-Peraza testi- fied that he did not report the incident to local police because he believed most officers were corrupt. Gang violence affected others in de Paz-Peraza’s life, too. He testified that gang members killed two of his friends for refusing to join the gang, and sent his brother, who still lives in El Salvador, threatening text messages. De Paz-Peraza did not meet MS-13 members again in per- son after July. But he continued to receive threatening mes- sages, as he repeatedly refused to join the gang. No. 24-2854 3 On July 25, 2016, de Paz-Peraza fled to the United States. He testified that his remaining family members in El Salvador live in fear and cannot leave home. Since he left, gang mem- bers have asked about him twice—once shortly after his de- parture and again about two years later. B. Procedural History Soon after de Paz-Peraza arrived in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceed- ings against him. He conceded removability. The same day, he applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief un- der the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), relying on his political opinion and membership in three social groups. An IJ held a hearing on de Paz-Peraza’s application where he testified to the foregoing facts. The IJ found him credible and concluded that he experienced past persecution but de- nied his asylum application. First, the IJ rejected de Paz- Peraza’s reliance on his political opinion, reasoning that he never expressed his political beliefs to gang members. Second, the IJ deemed de Paz-Peraza’s proffered social groups— young male Salvadorans threatened by gang violence, male Salvadorans threatened with death by MS-13, and young male Salvadorans—not cognizable. Finally, even assuming de Paz-Peraza identified a cogniza- ble social group, he failed to show a nexus between the harm he suffered and any proffered group. In the IJ’s view, the evi- dence demonstrated that gang members targeted de Paz- Peraza to fill the gang’s ranks and promote its criminal initia- tives, not because members associated him with a particular social group. 4 No. 24-2854 The IJ denied de Paz-Peraza’s withholding of removal claim on the same grounds. As for his request for protection under the CAT, the IJ concluded that de Paz-Peraza feared pri- vate criminal actors, not the Salvadoran government, and thus could not establish entitlement to relief. The Board of Immigration Appeals (the “Board”) affirmed the IJ’s decision without a written opinion. In this petition for review, de Paz-Peraza abandons his claim for relief under the CAT and relies only on his identity as a young male Salvadoran to support his claims for asylum and withholding of removal. II. Discussion Because the Board
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Date Decided
June 10, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
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appellate
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In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
____________________
No. 24-2854 CARLOS ANTONIO DE PAZ-PERAZA, Petitioner, v.
PAMELA J. BONDI, Attorney General of the United States, Respondent. ____________________
Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals.
No. A209-286-063
____________________
ARGUED APRIL 16, 2025 — DECIDED JUNE 9, 2025
____________________
Before SYKES, Chief Judge, and ST. EVE and JACKSON- AKIWUMI, Circuit Judges. ST. EVE, Circuit Judge. Carlos Antonio de Paz-Peraza, a cit- izen of El Salvador, challenges the denial of his claims for asy- lum and withholding of removal. De Paz-Peraza sought relief based on threats he received from members of the MS-13 gang in El Salvador. 2 No. 24-2854
Because substantial evidence supports the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) determination that de Paz-Peraza failed to es- tablish a nexus between the persecution he experienced and his proffered social group—young male Salvadorans—we deny his petition. I. Background A. Factual History Between May and July 2016, MS-13 gang members in El Salvador threatened de Paz-Peraza, then 17 years old. They sent him numerous messages demanding that he join the gang or risk his family’s safety. When de Paz-Peraza spoke to his friend, a police officer, about the threats, the officer urged him to leave the country. Gang members also confronted de Paz-Peraza in person. First, in May 2016, they stole his phone and work tools. Then, on two different occasions in early July, they threatened him with a firearm and demanded he join the gang. Gunfire en- sued during the last encounter and both a gang member and de Paz-Peraza’s officer friend were shot. De Paz-Peraza testi- fied that he did not report the incident to local police because he believed most officers were corrupt. Gang violence affected others in de Paz-Peraza’s life, too. He testified that gang members killed two of his friends for refusing to join the gang, and sent his brother, who still lives in El Salvador, threatening text messages. De Paz-Peraza did not meet MS-13 members again in per- son after July. But he continued to receive threatening mes- sages, as he repeatedly refused to join the gang. No. 24-2854 3
On July 25, 2016, de Paz-Peraza fled to the United States.
He testified that his remaining family members in El Salvador live in fear and cannot leave home. Since he left, gang mem- bers have asked about him twice—once shortly after his de- parture and again about two years later. B. Procedural History Soon after de Paz-Peraza arrived in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceed- ings against him. He conceded removability. The same day, he applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief un- der the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), relying on his political opinion and membership in three social groups. An IJ held a hearing on de Paz-Peraza’s application where he testified to the foregoing facts. The IJ found him credible and concluded that he experienced past persecution but de- nied his asylum application. First, the IJ rejected de Paz- Peraza’s reliance on his political opinion, reasoning that he never expressed his political beliefs to gang members. Second, the IJ deemed de Paz-Peraza’s proffered social groups— young male Salvadorans threatened by gang violence, male Salvadorans threatened with death by MS-13, and young male Salvadorans—not cognizable. Finally, even assuming de Paz-Peraza identified a cogniza- ble social group, he failed to show a nexus between the harm he suffered and any proffered group. In the IJ’s view, the evi- dence demonstrated that gang members targeted de Paz- Peraza to fill the gang’s ranks and promote its criminal initia- tives, not because members associated him with a particular social group. 4 No. 24-2854
The IJ denied de Paz-Peraza’s withholding of removal
claim on the same grounds. As for his request for protection under the CAT, the IJ concluded that de Paz-Peraza feared pri- vate criminal actors, not the Salvadoran government, and thus could not establish entitlement to relief. The Board of Immigration Appeals (the “Board”) affirmed the IJ’s decision without a written opinion. In this petition for review, de Paz-Peraza abandons his claim for relief under the CAT and relies only on his identity as a young male Salvadoran to support his claims for asylum and withholding of removal. II. Discussion Because the Board
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Case Details
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Status
Decided
Date Decided
June 10, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
Court Type
appellate
Legal Significance
Case importance metrics
Metadata
Additional information
Quick Actions
Case management tools