MEMORANDUM **

William Lopez-Romero, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions pro se for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissing his appeal from the immigration judge’s denial of his applications for asylum and withholding of removal.

We reject Lopez-Romero’s claim that he is eligible for asylum and withholding of *786 removal which is based on his contention that he will be recruited by gangs if he returns to El Salvador, and this will result in persecution. Lopez-Romero does not establish a protected ground based on his alleged membership in a particular social group, namely El Salvador males who refuse to join gangs, or based on his anti-gang political opinion. See Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 854-56 (9th Cir. 2009) (refusal to join a gang does not amount to political opinion); Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 745-46 (9th Cir. 2008) (rejecting as a particular social group “young men in El Salvador resisting gang violence.”)

Accordingly, because Lopez-Romero failed to demonstrate that he was persecuted on account of a protected ground, we deny the petition for review.

PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.