Eladio Rosales-Rodriguez v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Eladio Rosales-Rodríguez, 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 and withholding of removal. 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.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that, even if credible, Rosales-Rodríguez failed to demonstrate that the harm he and his family suffered from the army, guerrillas, and unknown assailants was on account of a protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (some evidence of a persecutor’s motive — direct or circumstantial — must be provided to establish eligibility for asylum); Molina-Estrada v. INS, 293 F.3d 1089, 1094-95 (9th Cir.2002) (evidence did not compel conclusion that guerillas attacked family on account of a protected ground); Alonzo v. INS, 915 F.2d 546, 548 (9th Cir.1990) (conscription attempts by military not persecution absent…