FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JAN 24 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
EDRAS VALDEZ-GUERRA, No. 09-72638
Petitioner, Agency No. A079-365-894
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
Edras Valdez-Guerra, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review
of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from the
immigration judge’s decision denying his application for withholding of removal
and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). 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 for substantial evidence the agency’s factual
findings, Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 742 (9th Cir. 2008), and deny
the petition for review.
The record does not compel the conclusion that Valdez-Guerra’s political
opinion, religion, or membership in a social group was one central reason for the
MS-18 gang’s efforts to recruit or extort him. See Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555
F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir. 2009) (“[t]he Real ID Act requires that a protected ground
represent one central reason for an asylum applicant’s persecution”); Barrios v.
Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 855-56 (9th Cir. 2009) (resistance to gang membership did
not establish political opinion, and young Guatemalan men who resist gang
recruitment do not constitute a particular social group). Accordingly, substantial
evidence supports the agency’s denial of the withholding of removal claim because
Valdez-Guerra failed to establish he was or would be persecuted on account of a
protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 n.1 (1992) (to
reverse the agency’s finding “we must find that the evidence not only supports that
conclusion, but compels it”) (emphasis in original).
In addition, substantial evidence supports the agency’s denial of CAT relief
because Valdez-Guerra failed to establish it is more likely than not he will be
09-72638
tortured by or with the acquiescence of a government official if returned to
Guatemala. See Arteaga v. Mukasey, 511 F.3d 940, 948-49 (9th Cir. 2007).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
09-72638