FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JAN 21 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
SANTOS ISMAEL SIERRA-PALACIOS, No. 07-73746
Petitioner, Agency No. A098-113-283
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted January 10, 2011 **
Before: BEEZER, TALLMAN, and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.
Santos Ismael Sierra-Palacios, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions
for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) order dismissing his appeal
from an immigration judge’s decision denying his applications for asylum,
withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture
*
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).
(“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review de novo
questions of law, Cerezo v. Mukasey, 512 F.3d 1163, 1166 (9th Cir. 2008), except
to the extent that deference is owed to the BIA’s determination of the governing
statutes and regulations, Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 535 (9th Cir. 2004).
We review for substantial evidence factual findings. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453
F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny the petition for review.
Sierra-Palacios’s claim that the BIA erred in streamlining his case fails
because the BIA did not streamline the case.
We reject Sierra-Palacios’s claim that he is eligible for asylum and
withholding of removal based on his membership in a particular social group,
namely, people who have been actively recruited by gangs but who have refused to
join because they oppose gangs. See Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 854-55 (9th
Cir. 2009) (rejecting as a particular social group “young males in Guatemala who
are targeted for gang recruitment but refuse because they disagree with the gang’s
criminal activities”); Ramos-Lopez v. Holder, 563 F.3d 855, 859-62 (9th Cir. 2009)
(rejecting as a particular social group “young Honduran men who have been
recruited by gangs but refuse to join”). We also reject Sierra-Palacios’s claim that
his refusal to join a gang is an expression of a political opinion. See Ramos-Lopez,
563 F.3d at 862 (rejecting political opinion claim where petitioner “allege[d] no
2 07-73746
facts in support of a political opinion, actual or imputed, beyond his refusal to join
the [gang]”). Finally, substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that the
robbery of Sierra-Palacios’s sister was an isolated incident of violence unrelated to
him. See Gormley v. Ashcroft, 364 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 2004) (robberies
were random criminal acts that bore no nexus to a protected ground). Accordingly,
because Sierra-Palacios failed to demonstrate persecution or a well-founded fear of
persecution on account of a protected ground, we deny the petition as to his asylum
and withholding of removal claims. See Barrios, 581 F.3d at 856.
Finally, substantial evidence supports the agency’s denial of CAT relief
because Sierra-Palacios failed to establish it is more likely than not that he would
be tortured if returned to El Salvador. See Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d 1049,
1068 (9th Cir. 2009).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
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