IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-60305

Summary Calendar

RUFINO ALMANZA-MARTINEZ,

Petitioner,

versus

ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., U.S. Attorney General,

Respondent.

Petition for Review of an Order of

the Board of Immigration Appeals

BIA No. A 200 968 251

Before SMITH, WIENER, and ELROD, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Rufino Almanza-Martinez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for 

review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming 

the denial of his application for withholding of removal. Almanza-Martinez

does not challenge the determination that he was ineligible for asylum because 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

April 7, 2015

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

 

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No. 14-60305

of an untimely application and that he did not merit protection under the 

Convention Against Torture. By failing to brief those issues, he has waived 

them. See Thuri v. Ashcroft, 380 F.3d 788, 793 (5th Cir. 2004). 

Because the BIA relied on the decision of the immigration judge (“IJ”), 

we review both the IJ’s decision and the order of the BIA. See Wang v. Holder, 

569 F.3d 531, 536 (5th Cir. 2009). We review for substantial evidence the decision to deny withholding of removal and will not reverse unless the record compels it. Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2005). To be entitled to 

withholding of removal, a petitioner must show a clear probability of persecution, i.e., that it is more likely than not that his life or freedom will be 

threatened by persecution based on one of five enumerated grounds, including 

membership in a particular social group. Roy v. Ashcroft, 389 F.3d 132, 138 

(5th Cir. 2004); 8 C.F.R. § 208.16(b). 

Almanza asserts that the IJ ignored significant evidence establishing 

past persecution, including death threats to his son. He also complains that 

the IJ engaged in a highly speculative analysis by failing to ascertain whether

he was a member of a particular social group, specifically landowners returning from the United States to Mexico.

A particular social group is one that has “social visibility,” meaning that 

“members of a society perceive those with the characteristic in question as 

members of a social group,” and “particularity,” meaning that the group “can 

accurately be described in a manner sufficiently distinct that the group would 

be recognized, in the society in question, as a discrete class of persons.” 

Orellana-Monson v. Holder, 685 F.3d 511, 519 (5th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The BIA’s interpretation of the term “particular social group” is entitled to deference. Id. at 520−22.

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We have declined to recognize the wealthy or persons who earn a living 

as a protected group. Castillo-Enriquez v. Holder, 690 F.3d 667, 668 (5th Cir. 

2012). Although Almanza-Martinez cites an alleged death threat against his 

son and attempted violent crimes against his family in support of his claim of 

past persecution, he fails to show that those acts stem from anything more 

than opportunistic criminal motives or that the threat resulted in any harm to 

him or his family. See Arce v. Holder, 449 F. App’x 404, 406 (5th Cir. 2011). 

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that Almanza offered 

nothing more than bare claims of past persecution and did not establish a clear 

probability of persecution based on his membership in a particular social group 

if he were returned to Mexico. See Roy, 389 F.3d at 138. The BIA correctly 

denied his petition for withholding of removal. See Zhang, 432 F.3d at 344; 

§ 208.16(b). 

The petition for review is DENIED.

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