JOSE GUILLERMO NAVARRETE- MALDONADO, AKA Mario Heriberto- Ochoa, AKA Jose Guillermo… v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JOSE GUILLERMO NAVARRETE-
MALDONADO, AKA Mario Heriberto-
Ochoa, AKA Jose Guillermo Maldonado,
Petitioner,
v.
JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
No. 17-70994
Agency No. A200-154-641
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted May 15, 2018**
Before: SILVERMAN, BEA, and WATFORD, Circuit Judges.
Jose Guillermo Navarrete-Maldonado, a native and citizen of El Salvador,
petitions for review of the Board of Immigrations Appeals’ (“BIA”) order
dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
FILED
MAY 22 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention
Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We
review de novo questions of law, Cerezo v. Mukasey, 512 F.3d 1163, 1166 (9th
Cir. 2008), except to the extent that deference is owed to the BIA’s determination
of the governing statutes and regulations, Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 535
(9th Cir. 2004). We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings.
Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1070 (9th Cir. 2008). We deny the petition for
review.
The agency did not err in finding that Navarrete-Maldonado failed to
establish membership in a cognizable social group due to his status as a returnee,
see Reyes v. Lynch, 842 F.3d 1125, 1139-40 (9th Cir. 2016), or due to his fear of
harm from gangs, see id. at 1131 (“[To demonstrate membership in a particular
social group,] [t]he applicant must ‘establish that the group is (1) composed of
members who share a common immutable characteristic, (2) defined with
particularity, and (3) socially distinct within the society in question.’ ” (quoting
Matter of M-E-V-G-, 26 I. & N. Dec. 227, 237 (BIA 2014))). We reject Navarrete-
Maldonado’s contentions that the agency otherwise erred in its analysis. Thus,
Navarrete-Maldonado’s withholding of removal claim fails.

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Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s denial of CAT relief because
Navarrete-Maldonado failed to establish it is more likely than not he will be
tortured with the consent or acquiescence of the government of El Salvador.
Garcia-Milian v. Holder, 755 F.3d 1026, 1034-35 (9th Cir. 2014) (evidence did not
compel conclusion that petitioner established the state action necessary for CAT
relief).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.

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