Mendoza-Alvarez v. Holder Jr., No. 08-74386 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, a Mexican citizen, petitioned for review of the BIA's order denying withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. 1231(b) and returning him to Mexico. The BIA concluded that the social group petitioner proposed, framed in the terms presented to the BIA - insulin-dependent persons with mental-health problems, including posttraumatic stress and depressive disorders - was not "particular" as the statute required. The BIA also concluded that the record did not show a clear probability of persecution because of membership in a particular social group. The court concluded that the BIA correctly found that petitioner failed to show that he was a member of a particular social group or that he would be persecuted because of his membership in a particular social group. Accordingly, the court denied the petition.
Court Description: Immigration. The panel denied a petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals denying withholding of removal to a citizen of Mexico because petitioner failed to establish that he was a member of a protected social group or that he would more likely than not be persecuted on that basis. The panel held that petitioner’s proposed social group, which petitioner variously describes as consisting of disabled persons or all insulin-dependent diabetics or all insulin- dependent diabetics who suffer from mental illness, did not qualify as a protected social group because it lacked sufficient particularity. The panel further held that substantial evidence supported the Board’s determination that petitioner failed to demonstrate that his social group membership would be at least one central reason for being persecuted.
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