Remigio Hernandez Lopez v. Eric Holder, Jr.
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Remigio Hernandez Lopez, 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 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 the agency’s factual findings, Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006), and we deny the petition for review.
Hernandez Lopez testified he was threatened because he refused to testify as an eyewitness to a crime. Substantial evidence supports the agency’s conclusion that Hernandez Lopez failed.to establish past persecution or a fear of future persecution on account of his political opinion, political neutrality, ethnicity, or membership in a particular social group. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481-82 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). Accordingly, in the absence of a nexus to a protected ground, Hernandez Lopez’s asylum and withholding of removal claims fail. See Ochoa v. Gonzales, 406 F.3d 1166, 1172 (9th Cir.2005).