The First Circuit has denied a petition for review from a Honduran couple whose asylum claim rested on death threats and harassment from gang members. The Immigration Judge denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed, although it reversed the Immigration Judge's adverse credibility finding as to the petitioner's partner. Only the asylum denial was pursued on appeal, and the court treated the withholding claim as waived.
Reviewing the persecution findings for substantial evidence, the court held that the record did not compel a finding of past persecution. The partner was never physically harmed, the gang members declined to hurt anyone, and it was unclear who was behind an alleged kidnapping attempt. The court distinguished Javed v. Holder, where threats were accompanied by violence. On future persecution, Facebook messages and harassment did not establish an objectively reasonable fear under Martínez-Pérez v. Sessions, and general country conditions evidence could not substitute for particularized evidence of risk to these petitioners.
The full text of Alvarado-Hernandez v. Blanche can be found here: https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/opnfiles/24-1447P-01A.pdf