The Fifth Circuit has determined that the proper standard of review to apply to the Board of Immigration Appeals' (Board) factual determination that an asylum applicant was firmly resettled in a third country is substantial evidence. In the instant case, the petitioner did not meaningful contest the Immigration Judge's finding that she was firmly resettled in Mexico, but asserted that an exception to the firm resettlement bar applied in her case - namely, that she remained in Mexico only as a necessary consequence of her flight from Bolivia. The agency disagreed, noting the length of her residency in Mexico, her travels in and out of Mexico, and her ability to work in Mexico. As such, the court found that substantial evidence supported the conclusion that she was not in Mexico only as long as necessary to arrange onward travel.
The full text of Lara v. Lynch can be found here:
http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/15/15-60126-CV0.pdf