Del Cid-Mazariegos v. Holder

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JAN 21 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JOSE ANTONIO DEL CID- No. 07-74470
MAZARIEGOS,
Agency No. A098-113-305
Petitioner,
v. MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted January 11, 2010 **
Before: BEEZER, TROTT, and BYBEE, Circuit Judges.
Jose Antonio Del Cid-Mazariegos, a native and citizen of Guatemala,
petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing
his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for
*
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).
KY/Research
asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture
(“CAT”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review de novo
questions of law, Cerezo v. Mukasey, 512 F.3d 1163, 1166 (9th Cir. 2008), except
to the extent that deference is owed to the BIA’s determination of the governing
statutes and regulations, Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 535 (9th Cir. 2004).
We review factual findings for substantial evidence. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453
F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny in part and dismiss in part the
petition for review.
We reject Del Cid-Mazariegos’ claim that he is eligible for asylum and
withholding of removal based on his membership in a particular social group,
namely, Guatemalan males who refuse to join gangs, or based on his anti-gang
political opinion. See 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”) (internal quotation omitted); Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849,
854-56 (9th Cir. 2009) (refusal to join a gang does not amount to political opinion.)
Accordingly, because Del Cid-Mazariegos failed to demonstrate that he was
persecuted on account of a protected ground, we deny the petition as to his asylum
and withholding of removal claims. See id. at 856.
KY/Research 2 07-74470
We lack jurisdiction to consider Del Cid-Mazariegos’ CAT claim because he
did not exhaust it before the agency. See Barron v. Ashcroft, 358 F.3d 674, 677-78
(9th Cir. 2004).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part; DISMISSED in part.
KY/Research 3 07-74470