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Domingo-Lucas v. Blanche — 9th Cir. (Oct 26, 2026)

No. 23-3006 Argued October 26, 2026 Published October 27, 2026

The Ninth Circuit hears a Guatemalan woman's challenge to the denial of protection from removal. Maria Domingo-Lucas fears private violence and says the Guatemalan government cannot protect her. An earlier effort to obtain protection reached the Eighth Circuit. This petition challenges the denial of withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. Withholding can bar removal to a country where someone's life or freedom would be threatened because of a protected characteristic, including membership in a particular social group. In Perdomo, the Ninth Circuit held that the agency could not reject Guatemalan women as a group simply because that group was broad, but left further analysis to the agency. Recognizing a group does not by itself establish that an applicant qualifies for protection.

Domingo-Lucas v. Blanche (No. 23-3006) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued October 26, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — official Ninth Circuit original; volume leveling only:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/10/26/23-3006.mp3
Argument date and case — official Ninth Circuit recording archive:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=23-3006&hearingDate=2026-10-26
Current protection claims — official Ninth Circuit hearing calendar, October 26, 2026:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/calendar/
Earlier protection proceedings — Eighth Circuit opinion, No. 17-1652 (2018):https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca8-17-01652/pdf/USCOURTS-ca8-17-01652-0.pdf
Guatemalan women and particular social groups — Perdomo v. Holder (court-text mirror):https://www.law.cornell.edu/sites/www.law.cornell.edu/files/women-and-justice/Perdomo-v-Holder.pdf
Agency analysis of particular social groups — Matter of K-E-S-G- (2025):https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1408366/dl?inline=
Withholding of removal — 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3):https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1231
Independent judicial interpretation — Loper Bright, majority opinion at page 35:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-451_7m58.pdf
Independent analysis — Congressional Research Service, R48320:https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R48320.html

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