United States Court of Appeals

for the Fifth Circuit

No. 19-60298

Summary Calendar

Engelbert Felix Carbajal-Betanco, also known as Engelbert 

Felix Carvajal-Betanco,

Petitioner,

versus

William P. Barr, U.S. Attorney General, 

Respondent.

Petition for Review of an Order of the

Board of Immigration Appeals

BIA No. A096 180 187

Before Higginbotham, Jones, and Costa, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:*

Engelbert Carbajal-Betanco, a native and citizen of El Salvador, 

petitions for review of an immigration judge’s decision affirming an asylum 

officer’s determination that he lacked a reasonable fear of persecution or 

* Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited 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 Circuit Rule 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

December 3, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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2

torture. On appeal, he presents claims that pertain only to the determination 

that he lacked a reasonable fear of persecution. Therefore, he has abandoned 

any challenge to the determination that he failed to demonstrate that he was 

more likely than not to be tortured upon his return to El Salvador. See 

Chambers v. Mukasey, 520 F.3d 445, 448 n.1 (5th Cir. 2008). The 

Government has also filed a motion to dismiss the petition for review.

To establish a reasonable fear of persecution, an alien must 

“establish[] a reasonable possibility that he or she would be persecuted on 

account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular 

social group or political opinion.” 8 C.F.R. § 1208.31(c).1

 To demonstrate

persecution, the applicant must establish that one of the five statutorily 

protected grounds was “at least one central reason” for the harm that he 

experienced. Martinez Manzanares v. Barr, 925 F.3d 222, 227 (5th Cir. 2019)

(quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(i)).

Carbajal-Betanco argues that he was persecuted on account of owning 

a small business, being a former gang member, and being a practicing 

Christian. However, economic extortion is not a form of persecution under 

immigration law. See Singh v. Barr, 920 F.3d 255, 259 (5th Cir. 2019). 

Moreover, Carbajal-Betanco’s claim that he could be threatened by gangs if 

they discover he was in a rival gang in his youth does not rise to the level of 

persecution because it is “non-specific” and “lacking in immediacy.” See 

1 Although the Government argues that this court should apply a “facially 

legitimate and bona fide reason” standard rather than the substantial evidence standard in 

evaluating an immigration judge’s reasonable fear determination, it is not necessary to 

determine the appropriate standard of reviewat this time because Carbajal-Betanco’s claim 

fails even under the less deferential substantial evidence test. See Lara-Nieto v. Barr, 945 

F.3d 1054, 1060 n.5 (8th Cir. 2019). Under the substantial evidence standard, this court 

may not overturn a factual finding unless the evidence compels a contrary result. MartinezLopez v. Barr, 943 F.3d 766, 769 (5th Cir. 2019). 

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Munoz-Granados v. Barr, 958 F.3d 402, 407 (5th Cir. 2020) (quoting Qorane 

v. Barr, 919 F.3d 904, 910 (5th Cir. 2019)). Finally, although he argues that 

he was targeted because he is a practicing Christian, he explicitly stated that 

the gang threatened him not because of his religion, but because he lived in a 

different “colony.” Because the record does not compel the conclusion that 

Carbajal-Betanco suffered past persecution or that he has a well-founded fear 

of future persecution, substantial evidence supports the immigration judge’s 

reasonable fear determination.

Based upon the foregoing, the petition for review is DENIED and the 

motion to dismiss is DENIED as moot.

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