Jorge Iraheta-Osorio v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Jorge Orlando Iraheta-Osorio, a native, and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence, Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006), and we deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that, even if credible, Iraheta-Oso-rio’s experiences in El Salvador did not rise to the level of persecution. See Lim v. INS, 224 F.3d 929, 936-37 (9th Cir.2000). Substantial evidence also supports the BIA’s finding that Iraheta-Osorio failed to establish past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground, because he did not demonstrate that the gang members who sought to extort money from him and his family were motivated by anything other than an economic interest. See Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir.2009) (“[t]he Real ID Act requires that a protected ground represent ‘one central reason’ for an asylum applicant’s…