Roderico Temaj Castanon v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Roderico Beltsazar Temaj Castanon, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) 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.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that Temaj Castanon failed to demonstrate that either his family’s past encounters with guerrilla members or his fear of future harm from general civil strife has a nexus to a protected ground. See Molina-Estrada v. INS, 293 F.3d 1089, 1094-95 (9th Cir.2002) (evidence did not compel finding that Guatemalan guerillas attacked family home and threatened family on account of imputed political opinion or membership in a particular social group); Ochave v. INS, 254 F.3d 859, 865 (9th Cir.2001) (“Asylum generally is not available to victims of civil strife, unless they are singled out on account of a…