FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 23 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JESSICA CAROLINA LOPEZ-CASTRO, No. 09-70530
Petitioner, Agency No. A098-655-524
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
**
Submitted November 16, 2010
Before: TASHIMA, BERZON, and CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.
Jessica Carolina Lopez-Castro, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions
for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing her appeal from
an immigration judge’s decision denying her application for asylum, withholding
of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. We have jurisdiction
*
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).
under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review questions of law de novo, see, e.g., Cerezo v.
Mukasey, 512 F.3d 1163, 1166 (9th Cir. 2008), except to the extent that deference
is owed to the BIA’s interpretation of the governing statutes and regulations. See
Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 535 (9th Cir. 2004). We review factual
findings for substantial evidence. See, e.g., Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182,
1184–85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny the petition for review.
We reject Lopez-Castro’s claim that she is eligible for asylum and
withholding of removal based on her membership in a particular social group,
namely, decent law abiding citizens of El Salvador who share a common
immutable fear of the MS 13 and 18th St. gangs whom the government cannot
control. See Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 855–56 (9th Cir. 2009); Ramos-
Lopez v. Holder, 563 F.3d 855, 860–62 (9th Cir. 2009); see also Velasco-
Cervantes v. Holder, 593 F.3d 975, 978–79 (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that
government material witnesses do not constitute a particular social group) (citing
Soriano v. Holder, 569 F.3d 1162, 1166 (9th Cir. 2009) (holding that government
informants are not members of a particular social group)). We also reject Lopez-
Castro’s contention that she is eligible for relief based on a political opinion, either
actual or imputed. See Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 747 (9th Cir.
2008).
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Accordingly, because Lopez-Castro failed to demonstrate that she was
persecuted or feared persecution on account of a protected ground, we deny the
petition as to her asylum and withholding-of-removal claims. See id. at 746–47;
see also Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir. 2009) (“The Real ID
Act requires that a protected ground represent ‘one central reason’ for an asylum
applicant’s persecution.”).
We also deny the petition as to Lopez-Castro’s claim under the Convention
Against Torture because she presented no evidence that she would more likely than
not be tortured upon removal to El Salvador. See Barrios, 581 F.3d at 856 n.6.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
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