Felix Inocente-Hernandez v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Felix Inocente-Hernandez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence factual findings. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006). We deny the petition for review.

Inocente-Hernandez contends he established a nexus to a protected ground based on his membership in a proposed social group of small landowners. Substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that Inocente-Hernandez failed to establish any past or future harm was or would be on account of a protected ground. See Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir.2009) (the REAL ID Act “requires that a protected ground represent ‘one central reason’ for an asylum applicant’s persecution”); INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (petitioner failed to establish a nexus to a protected ground). In the absence of a nexus to a protected ground,…