Velasco v. Holder

**PSG, material witnesses for government, smugglers**

Smugglers assisted Velasco in entering the United States, and she was warned repeatedly by the smugglers that she should not tell immigration officers anything about her.  In one house where she was hiding before crossing the border, Velasco narrowly escaped being raped by the smugglers.  At the border, immigration officers discovered Velasco in a smuggler’s car and she was taken into custody. During her time in custody, Velasco’s husband contacted
one of the smugglers and, in anger over the smugglers’ mistreatment of his wife, said that Velasco would tell the immigration officers “everything” about the smugglers.  Velasco’s husband was warned that she should not talk. The smugglers proceeded to call Velasco’s sister, parents and sister-in-law to issue similar warnings. They also repeatedly called Velasco herself, threatening to kill her if she helped the government.  The IJ did not err in denying Velasco asylum and withholding of removal because material witnesses for the government do not constitute a protected social group.  Government material witnesses are often involuntarily recruited for the task.  Moreover, former government material witnesses cannot be defined with sufficient particularity,  because any person of any origin can be involuntarily placed in that role in any type of legal proceeding.  This decision is in accord with precedent holding
that government informants also do not constitute a particular social group. See Soriano v. Holder, 569 F.3d 1162, 1166 (9th Cir. 2009) (“[A] ‘government informant’ is not a member of a particular social group for the purposes of asylum”).

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/01/27/08-73295.pdf