Victor Guarcas-Tol v. Eric Holder, Jr. , 569 F. App'x 518 ( 2014 )


Menu:
  •                                                                            FILED
    NOT FOR PUBLICATION                              APR 15 2014
    MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                       U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    VICTOR MANUEL GUARCAS-TOL,                       No. 10-72483
    Petitioner,                        Agency No. A094-810-437
    v.
    MEMORANDUM*
    ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
    Respondent.
    On Petition for Review of an Order of the
    Board of Immigration Appeals
    Submitted April 11, 2014**
    San Francisco, California
    Before: KLEINFELD, NGUYEN, and WATFORD, Circuit Judges.
    Victor Guarcas-Tol petitions for review of an order by the Board of
    Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the immigration judge’s (IJ) denial of
    withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
    **
    The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
    without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
    (CAT). Reviewing legal conclusions de novo and factual findings for substantial
    evidence, Ghaly v. INS, 
    58 F.3d 1425
    , 1429 (9th Cir. 1995), we deny the petition.
    Guarcas-Tol, a Guatemalan citizen, seeks withholding and CAT relief in
    view of a threatening confrontation he had with a superior officer while serving in
    the Guatemalan military. The IJ and the BIA assumed Guarcas-Tol’s testimony
    was credible, but found that he failed to establish the required nexus to his claimed
    political opinion, as required under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A), because the dispute
    was personal in nature. The conclusion that the dispute did not concern the corrupt
    operation of government forces at an institutional level is supported by law, see
    Grava v. INS, 
    205 F.3d 1177
    , 1181 (9th Cir. 2000), and substantial evidence in the
    record. Although Guarcas-Tol stresses the violence and corruption within the
    Guatemalan military, the service’s notorious history does not convert what was
    reasonably deemed a private dispute over individual misconduct, into one of
    political dimensions.
    As for Guarcas-Tol’s CAT claim, substantial evidence supports the finding
    by the IJ and the BIA that petitioner failed to establish the requisite likelihood that
    he would be tortured upon returning home.
    PETITION DENIED.
    2
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 10-72483

Citation Numbers: 569 F. App'x 518

Judges: Kleinfeld, Nguyen, Watford

Filed Date: 4/15/2014

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/31/2023