Fortunato De Paz v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Fortunato De Paz, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings and review de novo its legal conclusions. Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 742 (9th Cir.2008). We deny the petition for review.

De Paz challenges the agency’s determination that he abandoned his original asylum application. We reject De Paz’s request to remand this case for further proceedings regarding abandonment, because the agency reviewed the claims De Paz included in his original application, treated De Paz’s second asylum application as timely, and adjudicated the merits of these claims.

De Paz contends the IJ erred in its nexus determination because she failed to consider “government conscription,” but De Paz does not challenge the IJ’s additional dispositive finding that the threats De Paz experienced in El Salvador did not rise to the level of persecution. See Martinez-Serrano v. INS, 94 F.3d 1256,…