Olga Romero-Cruz v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Filing

Per Curiam OPINION filed : Romero-Cruz's petition for review is DENIED. Decision not for publication. Danny J. Boggs, and David W. McKeague, Circuit Judges; Benita Y. Pearson, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, sitting by designation.

Case: 14-3171

Document: 20-2

Filed: 01/13/2015

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NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 15a0041n.06
No. 14-3171

FILED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk

OLGA CELINA ROMERO-CRUZ,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney General,
Respondent.

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Jan 13, 2015

ON PETITION FOR REVIEW
FROM THE UNITED STATES
BOARD OF IMMIGRATION
APPEALS

BEFORE: BOGGS and McKEAGUE, Circuit Judges; PEARSON, District Judge.
PER CURIAM. Olga Celina Romero-Cruz, a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions
this court for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing her
appeal from the denial of her application for withholding of removal. We deny the petition for
review.
In 2010, the Department of Homeland Security served Romero-Cruz with a notice to
appear in removal proceedings, charging her with removability as an alien present in the United
States without being admitted or paroled. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). In an appearance
before an immigration judge (IJ), Romero-Cruz admitted the factual allegations set forth in the
notice to appear, with the exception that she claimed that she entered the United States in
December 2002, and conceded removability as charged. Romero-Cruz filed an application for



The Honorable Benita Y. Pearson, United States District Judge for the Northern District of
Ohio, sitting by designation.

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withholding of removal based on her membership in a particular social group. At the merits
hearing, Romero-Cruz claimed membership in two particular social groups:

(1) Honduran

nurses who have had children die in their care and are blamed for the deaths by the parents and
(2) Honduran nationals returning from the United States who are perceived by gang members as
having money. Denying the application for withholding of removal, the IJ found that RomeroCruz was not credible and went on to conclude that, even if credible, she failed to demonstrate
past persecution or a clear probability of persecution in Honduras. On appeal, the BIA found
that there was no clear error in the IJ’s adverse-credibility determination and determined that,
even if credible, Romero-Cruz did not meet her burden of proof.
Romero-Cruz petitions this court for review of the BIA’s decision, asserting that she met
the burden of proof for withholding of removal by establishing a clear probability of persecution
in Honduras. Where, as here, “the BIA reviews the immigration judge’s decision and issues a
separate opinion, rather than summarily affirming the immigration judge’s decision, we review
the BIA’s decision as the final agency determination.” Khalili v. Holder, 557 F.3d 429, 435 (6th
Cir. 2009). To the extent that the BIA adopted the IJ’s reasoning, we also review the IJ’s
decision. Id. Administrative factual findings, including credibility determinations, are reviewed
for substantial evidence and “are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be
compelled to conclude to the contrary.” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B); see Slyusar v. Holder,
740 F.3d 1068, 1072-73 (6th Cir. 2014).
Romero-Cruz fails to address the IJ’s adverse-credibility determination, which was
upheld by the BIA. Romero-Cruz has therefore waived review of that determination. See
Shkabari v. Gonzales, 427 F.3d 324, 327 n.1 (6th Cir. 2005). In any event, substantial evidence
supports the adverse-credibility determination. Romero-Cruz testified that she worked as a nurse

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on a pediatric floor at a hospital in Honduras. After a child died during Romero-Cruz’s shift, the
father returned to the hospital the following week with a knife and indicated that he was going to
stab her, but a security guard removed him from the hospital. Romero-Cruz omitted this incident
from her written application for withholding of removal. Romero-Cruz was adamant in her
testimony that this incident occurred in 2002, but the police report—the only corroboration of
this incident—stated that she filed a complaint in 2000. This discrepancy is relevant because she
claims to have left Honduras eight or nine months after the incident. The record does not compel
a conclusion contrary to the adverse-credibility determination, which is fatal to Romero-Cruz’s
claim for withholding of removal. See Slyusar, 740 F.3d at 1072.
Even if we consider the merits of her claim for withholding of removal, substantial
evidence supports the conclusion that Romero-Cruz failed to meet her burden of showing a clear
probability of persecution in Honduras on account of her membership in a particular social group
cognizable under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A);
Khozhaynova v. Holder, 641 F.3d 187, 192-93 (6th Cir. 2011). The alleged social group must be
socially visible—that is, “the set of individuals with the shared characteristic would be perceived
as a group by society.” Umana-Ramos v. Holder, 724 F.3d 667, 672 (6th Cir. 2013). There is no
evidence that nurses who have had children die in their care and are blamed for the deaths by the
parents are perceived as a distinct segment of Honduran society. Furthermore, Romero-Cruz
conceded that she was unaware of any other nurses who were attacked or killed by a parent of a
child who died in their care. As for Romero-Cruz’s claim that gang members will perceive her
as having money because she has lived in the United States for a long time, this court has held
that “criminal exploitation motivated by the perceived wealth of former inhabitants of the United
States is not tantamount to persecution based on a protected ground.” Cano-Huerta v. Holder,

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568 F. App’x 371, 373 (6th Cir. 2014); see Vindel v. Holder, 504 F. App’x 396, 398 (6th Cir.
2012) (holding that persons perceived by Honduran gangs as having money due to their lengthy
residence in the United States did not constitute a particular social group for purposes of the
INA).
For the foregoing reasons, we deny Romero-Cruz’s petition for review.

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