Case Explained: OSCAR HERNANDEZ-HERNANDEZ V. TODD BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-08-04 The ninth-circuit denied the petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ dismissal of an appeal from an Immigration Judge’s denial of applications for asylum and withholding of removal. The court applied the substantial evidence standard, upholding the agency’s determinations because the evidence did not compel a contrary conclusion. Specifically, the court found that the petitioner’s experiences, including an attempted robbery, school discrimination, and extreme poverty, did not rise to the level of past persecution or establish a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of his Quiché ethnicity or proposed particular social group. Additionally, the court determined that the petitioner failed to demonstrate an individualized risk of persecution despite membership in a disfavored group. Because the petitioner failed to meet the lower standard for asylum, he could not satisfy the higher “clear probability” standard required for withholding of removal. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.