FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUL 13 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
KERLIN IZABEL GERONIMO-DONIS, No. 10-72020
Petitioner, Agency No. A098-721-237
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted July 12, 2011 **
Before: SCHROEDER, ALARCÓN, and LEAVY, Circuit Judges.
Kerlin Izabel Geronimo-Donis, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions
for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision, dismissing his appeal of
the immigration judge’s denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of
removal, and relief 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).
Geronimo-Donis contends that he was persecuted by gang members who
robbed and threatened him. To establish a nexus between the alleged persecution
and a protected ground, Geronimo-Davis contends that he was a member of a
social group consisting of people who resist criminal threats by gang members, and
that his anti-gang position constituted political opinion.
Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that Geronimo-Donis
failed to establish that any harm he suffered, or fears, from gangs is on account of a
protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 482-84 (1992) (forced
recruitment by persecutors seeking to fill their ranks is not necessarily persecution
on account of political opinion); Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 855-56 (9th Cir.
2009) (petitioner who resisted gang recruitment did not establish persecution on
account of social group or political opinion); Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d
738, 745-47 (9th Cir. 2008) (speculative fear of future gang activity and
persecution does not serve as a basis for asylum relief). Substantial evidence also
supports the agency’s denial of CAT relief because Geronimo-Donis did not
establish that it was more likely than not that he will be tortured by or with the
acquiescence of the Guatemalan government. See Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d
1066, 1073 (9th Cir. 2008).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
2 10-72020