Henry Miranda Florian v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Henry Javier Miranda-Florian, a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review questions of law de novo, see, e.g., Cerezo v. Mukasey, 512 F.3d 1163, 1166 (9th Cir.2008), except to the extent that deference is owed to the Board’s interpretation of the governing statutes and regulations. See Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 535 (9th Cir.2004). We review factual findings for substantial evidence. See, e.g., Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006). We deny the petition for review.

We reject Miranda’s claim that he is eligible for asylum and withholding of removal based on his membership in a particular social group, namely, young Honduran males who live without a parent and refuse to join gangs. See Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 855-56 (9th Cir.2009) (rejecting, as a particular social group, “young males in Guatemala who are targeted for gang recruitment but refuse because they…