Court Opinion

ID: 9391585
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-02 18:00:32.797628+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:41.624671
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-60402        Document: 00516734567             Page: 1      Date Filed: 05/02/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit                                  United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                  Fifth Circuit

                                     ____________                               FILED
                                                                             May 2, 2023
                                      No. 22-60402
                                                                           Lyle W. Cayce
                                    Summary Calendar                            Clerk
                                    ____________

   Juan Rodriguez-Hernandez,

                                                                                   Petitioner,

                                            versus

   Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General,

                                                                                Respondent.
                     ______________________________

                        Petition for Review of an Order of the
                            Board of Immigration Appeals
                              Agency No. A201 143 310
                     ______________________________

   Before Jolly, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
         Juan Rodriguez-Hernandez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions
   for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (BIA) dismissal of his
   appeal from the immigration judge’s (IJ) denial of his application for
   withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against
   Torture (CAT). His withholding of removal claim is based on membership

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-60402        Document: 00516734567       Page: 2   Date Filed: 05/02/2023

                                   No. 22-60402

   in the proposed particular social group of landowners in Mexico who are
   targeted by cartels.
          We review the BIA’s decision and will consider the IJ’s underlying
   decision only if it impacted the BIA’s decision. See Sharma v. Holder, 729
   F.3d 407, 411 (5th Cir. 2013). Findings of fact, including the denial of
   withholding of removal and CAT protection, are reviewed under the
   substantial evidence standard. Chen v. Gonzales, 470 F.3d 1131, 1134 (5th
   Cir. 2006). Under the substantial evidence standard, we may not reverse a
   factual finding unless the evidence “compels” such a reversal—i.e., the
   evidence must be “so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could reach a
   contrary conclusion.” Id. Conclusions of law are reviewed de novo. Sharma,
   729 F.3d at 411.
          In support of his withholding contention on review, Rodriguez-
   Hernandez points to only two specific instances of harm committed by gangs
   to landowners—the murder of his landowning neighbor who refused to pay
   extortion demands, as well as the theft of his landowning brother’s vehicle.
   These instances taken together do not compel the conclusion that he was
   persecuted or will face persecution because he owns land. See Chen, 470 F.3d
   at 1138.   Further weighing against his withholding of removal claim,
   Rodriguez Hernandez’s family members in Mexico who own land have not
   faced harm by cartels. Rodriguez-Hernandez similarly failed to show that the
   record compels the conclusion that he will more likely than not face torture
   if returned to Mexico because he, again, only points to the acts committed
   against his neighbor and brother without elaboration. See Chen, 470 F.3d at
   1138-39.
          Accordingly,    Rodriguez-Hernandez’s      petition   for   review   is
   DENIED.

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