Elmer Alvares Rivas v. Eric Holder, Jr., No. 09-72373 (9th Cir. 2010)

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FILED SEP 21 2010 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT ELMER RODOFO ALVARES RIVAS, aka Elmer Rodolfo Alvarez-Rivas, No. 09-72373 Agency No. A099-465-462 Petitioner, MEMORANDUM * v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted September 13, 2010 ** Before: SILVERMAN, CALLAHAN, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges. Elmer Rodolfo Alvares Rivas, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissing his * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). appeal from the immigration judge s denial of his applications for asylum and withholding of removal. We reject Alvares Rivas s claim that he is eligible for asylum based on his membership in a particular social group, namely public transportation drivers who resist gang extortion. See Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 854-56 (9th Cir. 2009) (rejecting as a particular social group young males in Guatemala who are targeted for gang recruitment but refuse because they disagree with the gang s criminal activities ); Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 745-46 (9th Cir. 2008) (rejecting as a social group young men in El Salvador resisting gang violence ). We also reject Alvares Rivas s asylum claim based on his anti-gang extortion political opinion. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 482-84 (1992); Barrios, 581 F.3d at 854-56. Because Alvares Rivas failed to demonstrate that he was persecuted on account of a protected ground, we deny the petition as to his asylum and withholding of removal claims. Id. at 856. PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED. 2 09-72373

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