Benjamin Ruiz-Cabrera v. Eric Holder, Jr., 748 F.3d 754

Petitioner Benjamin Ruiz‑Cabrera, a Mexican national, entered the U.S. without inspection in 2001 and conceded removability in removal proceedings.
He sought withholding of removal and CAT protection, claiming fear of persecution by corrupt officials instigated by his politically active, abusive wife (a local PRD official).
Alleged incidents: past domestic violence, two 2002 encounters with police (public humiliation and attempted evidence planting/bribe), a 1996–97 shooting he attributes to a dispute his wife provoked.
He defined his particular social group as “persons who face persecution by corrupt governmental and law enforcement authorities instigated by a politically connected spouse,” and alternatively claimed persecution on account of imputed political opinion.
The immigration judge found his testimony credible but denied relief: the proposed group was defined by persecution, political opinion was not plausibly imputed, and the record did not show a likelihood of torture. The BIA adopted and affirmed that decision.
The Seventh Circuit denied the petition, holding the BIA’s conclusions were supported by substantial evidence and correct as a matter of law.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Ruiz‑Cabrera’s proposed “particular social group” is cognizable	Group members share marriage to a politically connected spouse; spouse identity is immutable	The group is defined by the risk of persecution (not a shared immutable trait) and here facts show a personal vendetta	Rejected: group is defined by persecution, not an immutable characteristic; BIA decision upheld
Whether persecution would be on account of imputed political opinion	Persecutors (politicians or traffickers) would impute either anti‑PRD or pro‑government opinions because of his wife’s politics	No evidence the persecutors would connect him to his wife’s political views; family member’s views alone insufficient	Rejected: petitioner failed to show persecutors would impute political opinion
Whether petitioner is entitled to protection under the CAT (likelihood of torture)	Wife’s threats and past police misconduct show a likelihood of torture if returned	Record lacks evidence of past torture or that threats would be executed to an extreme degree	Rejected: substantial evidence supports IJ/BIA conclusion that torture was not likely

Pouhova v. Holder, 726 F.3d 1007 (7th Cir.) (standard for reviewing BIA adoption of IJ decision)
Mema v. Gonzales, 474 F.3d 412 (7th Cir.) (review of BIA findings)
INS v. Elias‑Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478 (Sup. Ct.) (standard for withholding review)
Abraham v. Holder, 647 F.3d 626 (7th Cir.) (substantial‑evidence review)
Sirbu v. Holder, 718 F.3d 655 (7th Cir.) (legal‑error preservation and review)
Asani v. INS, 154 F.3d 719 (7th Cir.) (Chevron deference and claims review)
Cece v. Holder, 733 F.3d 662 (7th Cir.) (limits on group definitions tied to persecutor relationship)
Escobar v. Holder, 657 F.3d 537 (7th Cir.) (deference to BIA interpretations)
Jonaitiene v. Holder, 660 F.3d 267 (7th Cir.) (group must be more than shared persecution)
Marquez v. INS, 105 F.3d 374 (7th Cir.) (personal disputes do not support asylum)
Wang v. Gonzales, 445 F.3d 993 (7th Cir.) (similar limits on persecution claims)
Hassan v. Holder, 571 F.3d 631 (7th Cir.) (requirements for imputed political opinion claims)
Sankoh v. Mukasey, 539 F.3d 456 (7th Cir.) (imputed political opinion analysis)
Bathula v. Holder, 723 F.3d 889 (7th Cir.) (CAT/torture standard)
Margos v. Gonzales, 443 F.3d 593 (7th Cir.) (definition and proof of torture)