Jose Chicas-Mejia v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Jose Francisco Chicas-Mejia, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”).

We agree with the BIA that Chi-cas-Mejia was statutorily ineligible for asylum because he filed his asylum application more than one year after his entry into the United States, and did not show that extraordinary or changed circumstances existed to excuse the late filing. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (a)(2)(B), (D).

We reject Chicas-Mejia’s claim that he is eligible for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231 (b)(3) on the basis of his membership in a particular social group and/or his political opinion. Chicas-Mejia’s proposed social group, “drivers of public transportation in El Salvador,” does not constitute a particular social group under the Immigration and Nationality Act because its members are united only by their job description. See Ochoa v. Gonzales, 406 F.3d 1166, 1170-71 (9th Cir.2005). This group is united neither by a voluntary…