The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied a petition for review filed by Roxana Quijano-Duran and her minor daughter, both Salvadoran nationals who entered the U.S. illegally in 2017 after claiming persecution by the Mara 18 gang. The immigration judge had denied their asylum applications, and the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed their appeal.
Quijano claimed gang members attempted to extort her family on five occasions between 2015 and 2017, threatening violence and kidnapping if they did not pay money. She argued this constituted persecution based on her membership in particular social groups of 'Salvadoran women' and 'family relationship.' However, the immigration judge found her testimony not credible due to material inconsistencies and ruled the extortion attempts did not rise to the level of persecution.
The Eighth Circuit upheld the BIA's finding that Quijano waived her due process argument about judicial bias. The court noted that her notice of appeal contained only conclusory allegations without specific examples or details, and she failed to develop the argument in her brief to the BIA. The court emphasized that appellants must clearly and specifically inform the BIA of the bases for their claims of error.
The appeals court also dismissed Quijano's argument that she should not be removed because she is not an enforcement priority under Department of Homeland Security memoranda. The court ruled it lacked jurisdiction over such claims because removal decisions constitute prosecutorial discretion that is not subject to judicial review under federal immigration law.