No. 24-1172

MILTON GEOVANNY VARGAS PANCHI; AIDI VERONICA CONDOR LASSO;

M.A.V.C.; J.N.V.C.,

Petitioners,

v.

MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General,

Respondent.

PETITION FOR REVIEW OF AN ORDER OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS

Before

Aframe, Selya, and Kayatta, Circuit Judges.

Benjamin D. Klub, with whom Kevin P. MacMurray and MacMurray & Associates were on brief, for petitioners. Nehal H. Kamani, Trial Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, with whom Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, and David J. Schor, Senior Litigation Counsel, were on brief, for respondent.

January 13, 2025 KAYATTA, Circuit Judge. Milton Geovanny Vargas Panchi, his wife Aidi Veronica Condor Lasso,1 and children M.A.V.C. and J.N.V.C. petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) final order of removal. The BIA affirmed the decision of an Immigration Judge (IJ) that denied Vargas Panchi's request for asylum and withholding of removal and ordered petitioners removed to Ecuador. The BIA and IJ (together, the "agency") concluded that Vargas Panchi failed to establish a nexus between the harm that befell him and any protected ground for asylum; that other harm he experienced on account of a protected ground did not rise to the level of persecution; and that he did not have a well-founded fear of future persecution. Seeing no error of law or lack of substantial evidence supporting these findings, we must deny the petition. Our reasoning follows.

I.

Vargas Panchi, his wife, and their two children -- all natives and citizens of Ecuador -- entered the United States on August 23, 2021. Later, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

1 Condor Lasso's Ecuadorian identity document in the administrative record indicates that her first name is "Aida." Counsel for petitioners also refers to Condor Lasso as "Aida" in the body of their brief to us. However, counsel uses "Aidi" on the cover page of their brief. And the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision that we are asked to review lists her name as "Aidi," and links that name to her Alien Registration Number. Because no party has sought to change the spelling in the case name and records, we use "Aidi" for consistency with the agency's decision and internal records.

- 2 - filed a Notice to Appear with the Immigration Court to begin removal proceedings against Vargas Panchi and his family. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), (7)(A)(i)(I). On July 29, 2022, Vargas Panchi filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal, including his wife and two children as derivative beneficiaries.2 He otherwise conceded removability as charged.

In his pre-hearing memorandum, Vargas Panchi indicated that he sought asylum based on the persecution he suffered and would continue to suffer on account of his race and membership in the particular social group of "Indigenous Ecuadorian men."3 As supporting evidence, he submitted his own declaration, declarations from family members and an attorney stating that he and his family left Ecuador due to crime and violence, photographs of his injuries and his family, and personal identification documents for himself, his wife, and his two children. He also submitted country-conditions evidence showing the discrimination and harm faced by indigenous communities in Ecuador.

2 Vargas Panchi also sought protection under the regulations implementing the Convention Against Torture (CAT). However, he does not petition for our