SARAH POCASANGRE GARCIA, AKA Sarah Elizabeth Pocasangre Garcia v. MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
SARAH POCASANGRE GARCIA, AKA
Sarah Elizabeth Pocasangre Garcia, and
ANDERSON POCASANGRE GARCIA,
Petitioners,
v.
MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
No. 20-70307
Agency Nos. A208-896-689
A208-896-688
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Argued and Submitted May 11, 2021
San Francisco, California
Before: WALLACE, Senior Circuit Judge, Collins, Circuit Judge, and RAKOFF,**
District Judge.
Sarah Pocasangre Garcia, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for
review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the decision
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge for the
Southern District of New York, sitting by designation.
FILED
JUN 7 2021
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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of an Immigration Judge (IJ) denying asylum, withholding of removal, and
protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).1 Pocasangre Garcia fears
persecution by her ex-boyfriend, an alleged gang member who is the father of her
son, if she is returned to El Salvador. We review for substantial evidence the
agency’s factual findings, applying the standards created by the REAL ID Act. Ren
v. Holder, 648 F.3d 1079, 1083, 1089-90 (9th Cir. 2011). We have jurisdiction
pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252, and we deny the petition.2
The BIA upheld the IJ’s determination that Pocasangre Garcia testified
credibly but failed to provide sufficient corroborative evidence to meet her burden
of proof, and that what she did provide was insufficient to carry her burden. Under
the REAL ID Act, if the IJ determines that evidence is necessary to corroborate
otherwise credible testimony, “the IJ must give the applicant notice of the
corroboration that is required and an opportunity either to produce the requisite
corroborative evidence or to explain why that evidence is not reasonably available.”
Ren, 648 F.3d at 1093. Here, Pocasangre Garcia was given notice of the IJ’s decision
and a four-month continuance of the hearing to allow her the opportunity to obtain
the requested corroborative evidence or else explain why it was not reasonably
1 Pocasangre Garcia’s son, Anderson, is a derivative beneficiary of Pocasangre
Garcia’s asylum claim.
2 As the parties are familiar with the facts, we do not recount them here.

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available. She failed adequately to do so.
In particular, substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that
Pocasangre Garcia did not adequately explain why corroborative evidence in the
form of the key allegedly threatening Facebook messages from her ex-boyfriend was
not reasonably available. Although Pocasangre Garcia maintains that the messages
were unavailable, she never contacted Facebook for help in recovering them. A
reasonable trier of fact would not be compelled to conclude that the messages were
unavailable.
Substantial evidence also supports the BIA’s determination that the
corroborative evidence Pocasangre Garcia did produce, along with her otherwise
credible testimony and the remaining evidence in the record, was insufficient to meet
her burden of proof to establish her eligibility for asylum, withholding of removal,
or CAT protection. See Ren, 648 F.3d at 1094. Pocasangre Garcia produced letters
from her mother, her aunt, and a family friend who is a police officer in El Salvador.
But the agency permissibly concluded that these letters do not provide reliable
evidence of Pocasangre Garcia’s ex-boyfriend’s abusive behavior, and the record is
otherwise lacking such evidence. A reasonable trier of fact would not be compelled
to conclude that Pocasangre Garcia satisfied her burden of proof. 3
3 Because Pocasangre Garcia has failed to establish that she qualified for the
requested relief, we need not review the additional reasons for the denial of her
applications.

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PETITION DENIED

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