FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAY 22 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
NATHALIA HAIDEE MATA- No. 13-70476
GARCILAZO,
Agency No. A099-477-447
Petitioner,
v. MEMORANDUM*
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted May 13, 2014**
Before: CLIFTON, BEA, and WATFORD, Circuit Judges.
Nathalia Haidee Mata-Garcilazo, a native of Nicaragua and a citizen of
Nicaragua and Honduras, petitions pro se 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 protection under
*
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).
the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1252. We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Zehatye
v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny the petition for
review.
With respect to Nicaragua, substantial evidence supports the agency’s
determination that Mata-Garcilazo did not establish past persecution because, even
considered cumulatively, her experiences did not rise to the level of persecution.
See Nahrvani v. Gonzales, 399 F.3d 1148, 1153-54 (9th Cir. 2005) (record did not
compel finding that incidents of harm petitioner suffered, including death threats,
constituted past persecution). Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s
determination that Mata-Garcilazo did not establish a well-founded fear of
persecution. See Hakeem v. INS, 273 F.3d 812, 816 (9th Cir. 2001) (“[a]n
applicant’s claim of persecution upon return is weakened, even undercut, when
similarly-situated family members continue to live in the country without
incident”).
With respect to Honduras, substantial evidence supports the agency’s
determination that Mata-Garcilazo did not establish past persecution or a well-
founded fear of persecution because she did not establish a nexus to a protected
ground. See Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir. 2009) (the
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REAL ID Act “requires that a protected ground represent ‘one central reason’ for
an asylum applicant’s persecution”); Zetino v. Holder, 622 F.3d 1007, 1016 (9th
Cir. 2010) (“[a]n alien’s desire to be free from harassment by criminals motivated
by theft or random violence by gang members bears no nexus to a protected
ground”).
Because Mata-Garcilazo failed to meet the lower standard of proof for
asylum, her claim for withholding of removal necessarily fails. See Zehatye, 453
F.3d at 1190.
Finally, substantial evidence supports the agency’s denial of CAT relief
because Mata-Garcilazo failed to establish it is more likely than not she would be
tortured at the instigation of or with the acquiescence of the government if returned
to Nicaragua or Honduras. See Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir.
2008).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
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