Portillo-De Mendoza v. Holder
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Anna Cecilila Portillo-de Mendoza, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing her appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying her application for asylum, 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, INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478 , 481 n. 1, 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992), and we deny the petition for review.
Substantial evidence supports the agency’s conclusion that Portillo-de Mendoza did not establish past persecution because the harassment and groping that she suffered at the hands of gang members in El Salvador did not rise to the level of persecution. See Prasad, v. INS, 47 F.3d 336, 339-40 (9th Cir.1995). Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s conclusion that Portillo-de Mendoza failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution because her similarly situated immediate family members continue to reside in El Salvador without significant harm. See Aruta v. INS, 80 F.3d 1389, 1395-96 (9th Cir.1996).