Domingo Velasquez v. Eric Holder, Jr. ( 2010 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION DEC 27 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
DOMINGO VELASQUEZ, No. 09-72640
Petitioner, Agency No. A071-892-911
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted December 14, 2010 **
Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
Petitioner Domingo Velasquez, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions
for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing his appeal from an
immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum and withholding
*
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).
of removal.1 We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We deny the petition
for review.
Substantial evidence supports the Board’s denial of asylum and withholding
of removal because Velasquez failed to show that the guerillas’ attempt to recruit
him was on account of a protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S.
478, 481-82 (1992); 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 determination that, even assuming Velasquez is a member of a cognizable
social group comprised of K’anjobal Indians, he failed to establish a nexus. As the
Board observed, there is no evidence in the record to establish he was targeted for
this reason.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
1
Velasquez does not challenge the denial of his application for protection
under the Convention Against Torture.
2 09-72640