Opinion
The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2).
NOT FOR PUBLICATION. (See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure Rule 36-3)
Edgardo Quintanilla, Esq., Attorney at Law, Sherman Oaks, CA, for Petitioner.
Regional Counsel, Western Region Immigration & Naturalization Service, Laguna Niguel, CA, Ronald E. Lefevre, Chief Legal Officer, Office of the District Counsel Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco, CA, OIL, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Div./Office of Immigration Lit., Washington, DC, for Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Agency No. A79-656-125.
Before: KLEINFELD, TASHIMA, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
Kevin Luis Veliz-Estrada, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' summary affirmance without opinion of an immigration judge's ("IJ") denial of his applications for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252, and we deny the petition for review.
Substantial evidence supports the IJ's denial of asylum because petitioner failed to establish past persecution or a well-founded fear on account of an enumerated ground. See Bolshakov v. INS, 133 F.3d 1279, 1280-81 (9th Cir.1998) (explaining that evidence of criminal street gang activity does not establish persecution on account of a protected ground).
Because petitioner failed to establish eligibility for asylum, he necessarily failed to meet the more stringent standard for withholding of removal. See Farah v. Ashcroft, 348 F.3d 1153, 1156 (9th Cir.2003).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.