De Leon Diaz v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM **

Cornelia Maribel De Leon Diaz, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision, which summarily affirmed the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) order denying her application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 .

Where, as here, the BIA affirms without an opinion, we review the IJ’s decision directly. See Falcon Carriche v. Ashcroft, 350 F.3d 845, 849 (9th Cir.2003). We review for substantial evidence, Nagoulko v. INS, 333 F.3d 1012, 1015 (9th Cir.2003), and we deny this petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s finding that De Leon Diaz failed to establish a nexus between the alleged persecution and a protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481-84 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992); see also Ochave v. INS, 254 F.3d 859, 865-66 (9th Cir.2001) (requiring alien to establish nexus between alleged persecution and protected ground). Substantial evidence also supports the IJ’s finding that De Leon Diaz did not establish a reasonable possibility of future persecution because she presented no objective evidence of ongoing problems…