FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUN 10 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JUAN ORTIZ-ORTIZ, No. 07-73463
Petitioner, Agency No. A072-403-624
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted May 25, 2010 **
Before: CANBY, THOMAS, and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges.
Juan Ortiz-Ortiz, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of
the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an
immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have
jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence the BIA’s
factual findings, Lopez v. Ashcroft, 366 F.3d 799, 802 (9th Cir. 2004), and we grant
the petition for review.
Substantial evidence does not support the BIA’s conclusion that Ortiz-Ortiz
failed to establish past persecution on account of a protected ground because his
credible testimony and documentary evidence establish that he and his family were
targeted by guerrillas because of their pro-government political opinion. See Lopez
v. Ashcroft, 366 F.3d 799, 804 (9th Cir. 2004) (harm by guerrillas was punishment
for alien’s pro-establishment political views).
Because Ortiz-Ortiz established a nexus to a protected ground, we remand to
the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this disposition, see INS v.
Ventura, 537 U.S. 12, 16-18 (2002) (per curiam), taking into consideration Ortiz-
Ortiz’s age at the time of the past harms, see Hernandez-Ortiz v. Gonzales, 496
F.3d 1042, 1045-46 (9th Cir. 2007).
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
2 07-73463