The Ninth Circuit has determined that an evidentiary record compels the conclusion that the Honduran government is unable or unwilling to protect a woman from violence perpetrated by her partner, who was also a gang member.
“The IJ observed that did not necessarily suggest the police would do the same if they arrested Oscar after beating Petitioner. Yet the record in this case strongly suggests that if the government took no meaningful action in that instance, when Oscar’s victim was a man, it was even less likely to take meaningful action when the victim was a woman. The conclusion compelled by Petitioner’s testimony concerning the danger she faced from Oscar, his violent outbursts when she sought refuge at church, and his death threats deterring her from reporting him, as well as by the country conditions report documenting uncontrollable violence against women in Honduras, is that an attempt to report would not only have been futile, it would also have been likely to result in further harm to Petitioner. Because the record compels the conclusion that the government of Honduras would be either unable or unwilling to protect Petitioner, this element of the asylum and withholding inquiries is satisfied.”
The full text of Guevara-Serrano v. Bondi can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2026/01/20/23-4420.pdf