Oscar Arevalo-Castillo v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUL 01 2010 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT OSCAR AREVALO-CASTILLO and No. 08-75162 CARLOS ARISTIDE AREVALO- CASTILLO, Agency Nos. A099-534-962 A099-534-963 Petitioners, v. MEMORANDUM * ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted June 29, 2010 ** San Francisco, California Before: ALARCÓN, LEAVY, and GRABER, Circuit Judges. Oscar Arevalo-Castillo and his brother Carlos Aristide Arevalo-Castillo, natives and citizens of El Salvador, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of their application for asylum. * 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). Petitioners contend they were entitled to asylum relief based on their membership in a social group, namely their family, or young people who were approached by gangs. Young people from Central American countries who refused to join or cooperate with a gang do not constitute a “social group” for asylum purposes. See Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 854-55 fn. 3 (9th Cir. 2009); Ramos-Lopez v. Holder, 563 F.3d 855, 860-62 (9th Cir. 2009); Santos- Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 745-46 (9th Cir. 2008). In addition, although a family may suffice as a “social group,” Sanchez-Trujillo v. INS, 801 F.2d 1571, 1576 (9th Cir. 1986), not all family links will “per se suffice to confer ‘particular social group’ membership.” Lin v. Ashcroft, 377 F.3d 1014, 1028 (9th Cir. 2004). In this case, petitioners failed to show that the gang members knew that their uncle and grandmother were members of their family, or that the threats experienced by the grandmother and uncle constituted targeted persecution. In addition, the uncle and grandmother have remained unharmed since petitioners left El Salvador. See Santos-Lemus, 542 F.3d at 743-44 (family members who remained unharmed is substantial evidence that petitioners lack a well-founded fear of future persecution based on family membership). PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED. 2 08-75162