Maldonado Cruz v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM **

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

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s determination that Maldonado Cruz failed to establish eligibility for asylum. Maldonado Cruz testified that he was a youth leader in the Catholic church, his cousin was a member of the military, and unidentified persons shot at him and his cousin. Maldonado Cruz also testified that certain groups tried to recruit him. Neither his testimony, nor any other evidence in the record, compels the conclusion that Maldonado Cruz was persecuted or would be persecuted on account of a protected ground. See Tecun-Florian v. INS, 207 F.3d 1107, 1109-10 (9th Cir.2000)…