Xirong Wang v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM **

Xirong Wang, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order summarily affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) order denying his applications for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence, Gormley v. Ashcroft, 364 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir.2004), and we deny in part and grant in part the petition for review and remand for further proceedings.

Wang testified that government officials refused to pay him for the remodeling services he performed and arrested him when he demanded compensation, and that several inmates beat him while he was in prison. Wang presented no evidence, however, that these acts occurred, even in part, on account of a protected ground, rather than because of economic factors and general corruption. See Gormley, 364 F.3d at 1176-77 (upholding agency determination where petitioner presented no evidence that the perpetrators victimized him on account of a protected ground).

Neither the IJ nor the BIA addressed Wang’s claim that he also fears imprisonment and persecution…