Case Name: Jose Felipe AREVALO-TICAS, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2015-04-27
Citations: 600 F. App'x 568
Docket Number: No. 11-73285
Parties: Jose Felipe AREVALO-TICAS, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
Judges: Before: GOODWIN, BYBEE, and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 600
Pages: 568–568

Head Matter:
Jose Felipe AREVALO-TICAS, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
No. 11-73285.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Submitted April 22, 2015.
Filed April 27, 2015.
Salvador Ortiz, Esquire, Law Offices of Salvador Ortiz, Los Angeles, CA, for Petitioner.
OIL, Zoe Jaye Heller, Esquire, Trial, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Chief Counsel ICE, Office of the Chief Counsel Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco, CA, for Respondent.
Before: GOODWIN, BYBEE, and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges.
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2).

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Jose Felipe Arevalo-Ticas, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' ("BIA") order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge's decision .denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence the agency's factual findings, Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1070 (9th Cir.2008), and we deny, in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.
Substantial evidence supports the BIA's determination that Arevalo-Ticas failed to establish past persecution or a fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground based on threats and extortion by gang members in El Salvador. See Zetino v. Holder, 622 F.3d 1007, 1016 (9th Cir.2010) ("An alien's desire to be free from harassment by criminals motivated by theft or random violence by gang members bears no nexus to a protected ground."); see also Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734, 740 (9th Cir.2009) (the REAL ID Act "requires that a protected ground represent 'one central reason' for an asylum applicant's persecution"). We do not consider Arevalo-Ticas's social group claim because the BIA did not decide the issue, see Santiago-Rodriguez v. Holder, 657 F.3d 820, 829 (9th Cir.2011) (review limited to the grounds relied on by the BIA), and Arevalo-Ticas does not contend the BIA erred in finding that his social group claim was not properly before it, see Martinez-Serrano v. INS, 94 F.3d 1256, 1259-60 (9th Cir.1996) (issues not specifically raised and argued in a party's opening brief are waived). Thus, Arevalo-Ticas's asylum and withholding of removal claims fail. See Molina-Morales v. INS, 237 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir.2001).
We lack jurisdiction to review the denial of Arevalo-Ticas's CAT claim, because he failed to exhaust his challenge before the BIA. See Barron, 358 F.3d at 677-78.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part; DISMISSED in part.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.