Edwin Irias-Aguero v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Edwin Arturo Irias-Aguero (“Agüero”), a native and citizen of Honduras, seeks review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief pursuant to the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”).

Agüero claims he was targeted as a member of a “particular social group”: those who have witnessed gang crimes, or, as they are referred to in Honduras, “toads.” However, the BIA did not err in concluding that “toads” do not qualify as a particular social group within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A). We have previously upheld the BIA’s determination that young males in Central America who resist gang recruitment are not a particular social group because they “make up a potentially large and diffuse segment of society” and lack attributes that are generally visible to society. Ramos-Lopez v. Holder, 563 F.3d 855, 860-61 (9th Cir.2009). Those who have witnessed criminal acts by gangs are a potentially even larger and more diffuse group, as they could be of any gender or age and, although identifiable to other gang members, are not generally visible to…