Alvarez-Guillen v. Holder Jr.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Alvarez-Guillen v. Holder Jr., 360 F. App'x 816 (9th Cir. 2009)
Goodwin, Wallace, Fisher

Alvarez-Guillen v. Holder Jr.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Martha Alvarez-Guillen, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing her appeal from an immigration judge’s (IJ) decision denying her application for asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review factual findings for substantial evidence, Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 742 (9th Cir. 2008), and deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the Board’s denial of asylum and withholding of removal because Alvarez-Guillen failed to show her alleged persecutors threatened her on account of a protected ground. Assuming Alvarez-Guillen raised her claim of membership in a social group before the IJ, her fear of future persecution based on an actual or imputed anti-gang or anti-crime opinion is not on account of the protected ground of either membership in a particular social group or political opinion. See Ramos Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 854-56 (9th Cir. 2009); Santos-Lemus at 745-46; see Ochave v. INS, 254 F.3d 859, 865 (9th Cir. 2001) (“Asylum generally is not available to victims of civil strife, unless they are singled out on account of a protected ground.”)

Substantial evidence also supports the Board’s denial of CAT relief based on the *817 Board’s finding that Alvarez-Guillen did not establish a likelihood of torture by, at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence of the El Salvadoran government. See Arteaga v. Mukasey, 511 F.3d 940, 948-49 (9th Cir. 2007).

PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.

**

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

Reference

Full Case Name
Martha ALVAREZ-GUILLEN, AKA Delia Alvarez-Guillen, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER Jr., Attorney General, Respondent
Status
Unpublished