Jaime Santos Gramajo v. Loretta E. Lynch

FILED

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

SEP 22 2015

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

JAIME BERNARDO SANTOS No. 12-70670

GRAMAJO,

Agency No. A070-683-045 Petitioner,

v. MEMORANDUM*

ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,

Respondent.

On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals

Submitted August 28, 2015** Pasadena, California

Before: PREGERSON, TALLMAN, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges.

Jaime Bernardo Santos Gramajo (“Petitioner”), a native and citizen of

Guatemala, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals

(“BIA”) affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his applications for

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). asylum, withholding of removal, protection under the Convention Against Torture

(“CAT”), special rule cancellation of removal under the Nicaraguan and…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s memorandum disposition that denies *777 Jaime Bernardo Santos Gramajo’s (“Santos Gramajo”) petition for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b). The majority cites to 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (f)(6) to explain its decision that substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that Santos Gramajo lacks good moral character.

Santos Gramajo is a 43-year-old native and citizen of Guatemala. He testified that he first entered the U.S. without inspection as a young teenager and has never departed the U.S. since his initial entry. Santos Gramajo and his wife, Ana, met in 2004 and married in 2006. Ana is a beneficiary of Temporary Protected Status. Santos Gramajo lives with Ana and his stepson Jose, a thirteen-year-old United States citizen. Santos Gramajo provides essential care and support for Ana and Jose.

Ana testified that before Santos Grama-jo entered their lives, she and her son experienced extreme economic hardship. Despite working part-time at a service job at Del Taco, Ana did not have enough money to provide for all of Jose’s needs. Santos Gramajo has been taking care of them both since he entered their lives. If he is…

MEMORANDUM **

Jaime Bernardo Santos Gramajo (“Petitioner”), a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), special rule cancellation of removal under the *776 Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (“NACARA”), regular cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b), and voluntary departure. To the extent we have jurisdiction, it is pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We dismiss the petition in part and deny in part.

1. Petitioner is “ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal because his refusal to join a gang does not make him a member of a particular social group or constitute a political opinion.” Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 852-53 (9th Cir.2009) (rejecting the same claim made by another Guatemalan petitioner that he feared persecution by “maras” or gangs); see also INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 482-83 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (rejecting the notion that gang recruitment in Guatemala necessarily occurs “on account of” the…