Herber De Leon-Mazariegos v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s decision that De Leon Mazariegos failed to meet his burden of proof establishing that he was persecuted (1) on account of an imputed political opinion or (2) on account of his membership in a particular social group. The BIA accepted De Leon Maza-riegos’s testimony that guerillas attacked and threatened him and asked for him to reveal the location of his father. There is no direct evidence of motive; the guerillas did not make any statements relating to the political view of De Leon Mazariegos or his father nor did they make any statement with regard to their own political views. See Garcia-Milian v. Holder, No. 09-71461, 755 F.3d 1026, 1032-33 , 2014 WL 555138, at *4-5 (9th Cir. February 13, 2014). De Leon Mazariegos claims that circumstantial evidence in the record exists to support his claim. Specifically, De Leon Mazariegos argues that he was targeted based on an imputed political opinion because his father was a member of the civil patrol in Guatemala. This circumstantial evidence, by itself, does not compel a conclusion that the guerillas were targeting him or his family based on any imputed political opinion or membership…