Devdas Laishram v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Devdas Singh Laishram and his children, natives and citizens of India, seek review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (“BIA”) decision upholding the immigration judge’s denial of their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(1). Reviewing the agency’s factual findings for substantial evidence, Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039 (9th Cir.2010), we deny the petitions for review.

Laishram argues that the BIA erred in concluding that he did not face past persecution on account of a protected ground. Although we recognize that Laishram suffered several tragic events in Manipur we hold that substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that these events were not motivated by Laishram’s political opinion or social group. See Ayala v. Holder, 640 F.3d 1095, 1098 (9th Cir.2011); Kozulin v. INS, 218 F.3d 1112, 1115-16 (9th Cir.2000).

First, substantial evidence in the record supports the BIA’s determination that the mistreatment the Laishram family experienced in Manipur, including the murder of Laishram’s wife, was not connected to…