Elma Diaz-Morales v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Elma Diaz-Morales, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals decision affirming the immigration judge’s denial of her applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture.

Diaz-Morales contends that she qualified for asylum and withholding relief because the persecution she suffered on account of her refusal to comply with guerilla or military demands was based on her political opinion. Petitioner also contends that she met the standard for CAT relief because she will be tortured due to her resistance to the ORPA guerillas.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that Diaz-Morales failed to establish that she was targeted for harm because of her actual or imputed political opinion, or failed to establish a nexus to any other protected ground. See Sangha v. INS, 103 F.3d 1482, 1487 (9th Cir.1997) (persecution by antigovernment guerillas may not “from that fact alone be presumed to be ‘on account of political opinion”). Because Diaz-Morales did not establish a nexus to a protected ground, petitioner’s asylum claim fails. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S.…