FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JAN 03 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
REGGIE JACKSON RODRIGUEZ- No. 09-74054
GONZALEZ,
Agency No. A098-653-984
Petitioner,
v. MEMORANDUM*
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted December 17, 2013**
Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE, and GRABER, Circuit Judges.
Reggie Jackson Rodriguez-Gonzalez, a native and citizen of Nicaragua,
petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing
his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for
asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against
*
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).
Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for
substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings, Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d
1049, 1056 (9th Cir. 2009), and we deny the petition for review.
Substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that Rodriguez-Gonzalez
failed to establish that his political opinion, family membership, or any other
protected ground was one central reason for the mistreatment he experienced in
Nicaragua. See Ochoa v. Gonzales, 406 F.3d 1166, 1172 (9th Cir. 2005) (“[T]he
record provides no evidence that [the people petitioner feared] imputed political
beliefs to [him].”), abrogated on other grounds by Cordoba v. Holder, 726 F.3d
1106 (9th Cir. 2013); 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”). Further, substantial
evidence supports the agency’s determination that Rodriguez-Gonzalez did not
demonstrate a well-founded fear of future persecution. See Belayneh v. INS, 213
F.3d 488, 491 (9th Cir. 2000) (finding no well-founded fear of persecution on
account of a protected ground). Accordingly, his asylum claim fails.
Because Rodriguez-Gonzalez failed to meet the lower burden of proof for
asylum, his claim for withholding of removal necessarily fails. See Zehatye v.
Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1190 (9th Cir. 2006).
2 09-74054
Finally, substantial evidence supports the agency’s denial of CAT relief
because Rodriguez-Gonzalez failed to establish it is more likely than not that he
would be tortured by or with the consent or acquiescence of the government if
returned to Nicaragua. See Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir.
2008). We otherwise reject Rodriguez-Gonzalez’s CAT contention.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
3 09-74054