Angel Betancourt v. Garland

facts, we do not recount them here. We deny the petition for review.

1. An asylum “applicant must demonstrate a nexus between her past or

feared harm and a protected ground.” Garcia v. Wilkinson, 988 F.3d 1136, 1143

(9th Cir. 2021). “Specifically, the protected characteristic must be ‘a central

reason’ for the past or feared harm.” Id. (citation omitted).

Betancourt sought asylum on account of her membership in five proposed

particular social groups: (1) unemployed Mexican women; (2) Mexican women

who were targeted for kidnapping; (3) Mexican migrant women; (4) Mexican

women; and (5) Mexican women of working age.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that Betancourt failed

to establish a nexus between any past or feared harm and her proposed particular

23-359 social groups. Betancourt primarily relies on her attempted kidnapping by

criminals pretending to offer jobs at a Walmart store near her home in Mexico.

However, Betancourt stated that she did not know why she was targeted and that

the criminals attempted to kidnap both men and women. See Zetino v. Holder, 622

F.3d 1007, 1016 (9th Cir. 2010) (A non-citizen’s…