Case Explained: DURAN MORALES V. BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-06-29 The Ninth Circuit denied Mirella Duran Morales’s petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision affirming the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court held that Morales forfeited her challenge to the BIA’s determination regarding her proposed particular social group (PSG) because her opening brief failed to meaningfully argue against the finding that the group was impermissibly circular. Under Ninth Circuit precedent, a PSG is cognizable only if it shares an immutable characteristic existing independently of the harm; Morales’s proposed group of “victims of domestic violence from the father of their children” was found to be defined exclusively by the harm suffered, rendering it ineligible for asylum and statutory withholding of removal claims. Regarding CAT relief, the court applied a substantial evidence standard and concluded that the record did not compel a finding that the Mexican government would acquiesce in her torture. The court noted that country-conditions evidence showed the Mexican government was taking active measures to quell the harm, meaning Morales failed to prove it was more likely than not that she would be tortured by or with the acquiescence of public officials. As a result, the petition is denied, and the BIA’s order denying all forms of relief remains in effect. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.