NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUN 21 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
APOLINAR SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ, No. 14-73110
Petitioner, Agency No. A200-824-287
v.
MEMORANDUM*
LORETTA E. LYNCH, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted June 14, 2016**
Before: BEA, WATFORD, and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges.
Apolinar Sanchez-Gonzalez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for
review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an
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 Ninth Circuit Rule 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, Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d 1049, 1056 (9th Cir. 2009), and we deny the
petition for review.
Substantial evidence supports the agency’s determination that Sanchez-
Gonzalez failed to establish a nexus between any harm he fears in Mexico and a
protected ground. See 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”); Molina-Morales v. INS, 237 F.3d
1048, 1051-52 (9th Cir. 2001) (personal retribution is not persecution on account
of a protected ground). Thus, Sanchez-Gonzalez’s withholding of removal claim
fails.
Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s denial of Sanchez-
Gonzalez’s CAT claim because he failed to establish it is more likely than not he
will be tortured by or with the consent or acquiescence of the government if
returned to Mexico. See Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir. 2008).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
2 14-73110