NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS OCT 29 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ANAIBETH SANCHEZ TOSCANO; et al., No. 17-72625
Petitioners, Agency Nos. A202-033-440
A202-033-441
v. A202-033-442
JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney
General, MEMORANDUM*
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted October 22, 2018**
Before: SILVERMAN, GRABER, and GOULD, Circuit Judges.
Anaibeth Sanchez Toscano and her children, natives and citizens of Mexico,
petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing their
appeal from the immigration judge’s decision denying their application for asylum
and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We
*
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).
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.
Substantial evidence supports the agency’s conclusion that petitioners failed
to establish they would be persecuted on account of a protected ground if returned
to Mexico. See Ayala v. Holder, 640 F.3d 1095, 1097 (9th Cir. 2011) (even if
membership in a particular social group is established, an applicant must still show
that “persecution was or will be on account of his membership in such group”)
(emphasis in original); see also Zetino v. Holder, 622 F.3d 1007, 1016 (9th Cir.
2010) (applicant’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”).
Thus, in the absence of a nexus to a protected ground, petitioners’ asylum and
withholding of removal claims fail. See Zetino, 622 F.3d at 1015-16.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
2 17-72625
Anaibeth Sanchez Toscano v. Jefferson Sessions, III
Combined Opinion