Aristeo Escobar Mejia v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Aristeo Escobar Mejia and Minga Esco-bar, natives and citizens of Guatemala, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing their appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying their application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings, Ochoa v. Gonzales, 406 F.3d 1166, 1169 (9th Cir.2005). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

Escobar Mejia contends that a rival bus business targeted him on account of his family membership. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that, assuming without deciding Escobar Mejia’s family could qualify as a particular social group, Escobar Mejia has not shown his family or any other statutorily protected ground was or will be one central reason for any persecution he suffered or might suffer in Guatemala. See Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740-41 (9th Cir.2009) (“[t]he Real ID Act requires that a protected ground represent ‘one central reason’ for an asylum applicant’s persecution”). We reject…