FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MAR 27 2018
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
MARIA ARCELIA TOVAR-VASQUEZ, No. 14-72232
Petitioner, Agency No. A201-107-724
v.
MEMORANDUM*
JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Argued and Submitted March 8, 2018
Seattle, Washington
Before: RAWLINSON and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges, and FREUDENTHAL,**
Chief District Judge.
Maria Arcelia Tovar-Vasquez (Tovar-Vasquez), a native and citizen of
Mexico, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals
(BIA) dismissing her appeal of a decision from an Immigration Judge denying
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The Honorable Nancy Freudenthal, Chief United States District Judge
for the District of Wyoming, sitting by designation.
asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture
(CAT).
Tovar-Vasquez undoubtedly was subjected to persecution and torture in
Mexico. Unfortunately, the persecution and torture were at the hands of her
brother, who suffered from mental health issues and the effects of substance abuse.
This record before the IJ reflects that Tovar-Vasquez was unable to establish any
connection between the persecution she suffered and any protected ground.1 See
I.N.S. v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 (1992) (noting that a petitioner is
entitled to asylum relief if she can establish persecution “on account of race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”)
(citations omitted). Consequently, the denial of asylum and withholding of
removal was based on substantial evidence. See id. (reviewing for substantial
evidence).
The denial of CAT relief was also supported by substantial evidence because
Tovar-Vasquez failed to show that the government was unable or unwilling to
intercede on her behalf. See Andrade-Garcia v. Lynch, 828 F.3d 829, 836 (9th Cir.
2016), as amended. As the BIA noted, Tovar-Vasquez testified that the police
1
For this reason, we need not remand to the BIA under Barajas-Ramero v.
Sessions, 846 F.3d 351 (9th Cir. 2017).
2
responded to her call for assistance following one assault by her brother, but she
refused to press charges. On this record, Tovar-Vasquez’s CAT claim fails.
PETITION DENIED.
3