Monday, July 20, 2026

Garcia Demetrio v. Blache (9th Cir. - July 20, 2026)

The success rate for asylum petitions from citizens of Mexico is strikingly low. It remains to be seen if the petitioner here will ultimately prevail. But at least for the moment, she wins in the Ninth Circuit, which holds that the BIA erred in denying her petition seeking asylum and withholding of removal. (In the meantime, the Ninth Circuit grants a stay on her deportation, so at a minimum, she's at least got some time in the States.)

Here's what she said happened to her:

"In October 2023, Garcia and her children fled to the United States from their home in Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero, Mexico, after becoming targets of a criminal group. One month earlier, Garcia’s husband disappeared without trace or explanation. Garcia reported this disappearance to local authorities, who failed to investigate despite her follow-ups. Her husband remains missing.

After learning that her husband had disappeared, two men showed up at Garcia’s residence. The men told Garcia’s aunt, with whom Garcia lived, that they were government officials who wished to speak with Garcia about her eligibility for financial assistance programs for single mothers. The men left instructions for Garcia to attend a follow-up appointment the next day at an office in the city center.

When Garcia arrived at the office, she was confronted by four masked men, armed with rifles and wearing vests. They refused to let Garcia leave. The men told Garcia that they wanted to “take [her] girl and [her] boy to work with them” because they knew that Garcia was alone. The men planned to use her son to sell and traffic drugs, and said that her daughter might sell drugs or be raped. The men told her that she had two days to consider their offer or they would kill Garcia and her children. Garcia went home, collected her children, and immediately fled, taking a bus to Mexico City. She left without reporting the incident to the police; she wanted to “run as far as possible because [she] had fear that they could kill [her] and [her] three children.” Criminal organizations in Mexico routinely force adolescents to sell and transport drugs on their behalf, and adolescent girls are particularly at risk of sex trafficking.

On November 4, 2023, Garcia and her children entered the United States through the Nogales port of entry. She sought asylum upon arrival."