Cristian Cardona Fuentes v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Cristian Samuel Cardona Fuentes, a native and citizen of Guatemala, 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 relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Molino-Morales v. INS, 237 F.3d 1048, 1050 (9th Cir. 2001). We deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s determination that the harm Cardona Fuentes suffered did not rise to the level of persecution. See Lim v. INS, 224 F.3d 929, 936 (9th Cir. 2000) (“Threats standing alone ... constitute past persecution in only a small category of' cases, and only when the threats are so menacing as to cause significant actual “ ‘suffering or harm.’”). Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s determination that Car-dona Fuentes failed to establish a protected ground would be a central reason for the harm he fears. See Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir. 2009); see also Molina-Morales, 237 F.3d at 1052 (harm based on personal…