Victor Aguilar-Orellana v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Victor Manuel Aguilar-Orellana, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Our juris diction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that Aguilar-Orellana failed to establish his past experiences with gang members in El Salvador rose to the level of persecution, see Hoxha v. Ashcroft, 319 F.3d 1179, 1182 (9th Cir. 2003), or that it is more likely than not he would be persecuted in El Salvador on account of a protected ground, see Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740-41 (9th Cir. 2009). We lack jurisdiction to consider the particular social group Aguilar-Orellana proposes for the first time in his opening brief. See Barron v. Ashcroft, 358 F.3d 674, 677-78 (9th Cir. 2004) (petitioner must exhaust claim in…