A federal appeals court has rejected a Guatemalan citizen’s petition for asylum and protection from deportation, ruling that his experiences with gang extortion did not meet the legal criteria for refugee status.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion on July 16, 2026, affirming a previous decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals. The petitioner, Erick Jesus Flores-Turcios, entered the United States without inspection in 2016 and subsequently sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
According to court records, Flores-Turcios testified that when he was 18 years old, members of the MS-13 gang assaulted him and threatened his family in an effort to force him to make recurring extortion payments. In his testimony before an immigration judge, Flores-Turcios stated that the “gangs want . . . to make money through extorting the people there, and . . . those who cannot pay are recruited.” He added that the gang sought to recruit young people with the specific “purpose” of “mak[ing] the ranks bigger.”
Flores-Turcios did not contact local police, believing they were either corrupt or unable to assist, and eventually fled to the U.S. after the extortion escalated.
To secure asylum under U.S. law, applicants must prove that their fear of persecution is tied to a protected ground, such as race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a specific social group. Flores-Turcios argued he was targeted because of his membership in groups he described as “Guatemalan adolescents and/or youths” and “Guatemalan adolescents and/or youths who resist gang recruitment because of personal belief.”
However, the three-judge appellate panel ruled that Flores-Turcios failed to establish that his youth or his resistance to the gang was a central reason for the harassment. Writing for the court, Circuit Judge Richardson noted that Flores-Turcios’s own testimony indicated he was caught up in a generalized criminal scheme affecting the entire area.
“The gang extorted those with money and recruited those without; he was recruited because he could not pay,” Judge Richardson wrote. The court concluded that a criminal group’s broad goals of gaining more members and money do not satisfy the specific legal requirements for asylum, describing the gang in this context as “an equal opportunity persecutor.”
The court similarly upheld the denial of Flores-Turcios’s claim under the Convention Against Torture. To qualify for CAT protection, an applicant must show a clear likelihood of facing torture that occurs with the consent or “official acquiescence” of government officials.
The court noted that while chronic violence exists in Guatemala, country condition reports show that the local government regularly conducts anti-gang operations. Because Flores-Turcios never reported the extortion to authorities before leaving the country, the court found the record did not compel the conclusion that Guatemalan officials would turn a blind eye to his mistreatment.
Judges Niemeyer and Agee joined Judge Richardson in the decision to deny the petition.
READ: Court Denies Salvadoran Woman’s Deportation Appeal, Ruling DED Is Not An Immigration Status
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