DOUGLAS LINAREZ DE LEON V. ERIC HOLDER, JR., No. 09-73835 (9th Cir. 2014)
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FILED DEC 16 2014 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT DOUGLAS ARMANDO LINAREZ DE LEON, No. 09-73835 Agency No. A072-542-775 Petitioner, MEMORANDUM* v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted December 9, 2014** Before: WALLACE, LEAVY, and BYBEE, Circuit Judges. Douglas Armando Linarez de Leon, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying 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). Thus, we deny petitioner’s request for oral argument. application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. §1252. We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny in part and grant in part the petition for review, and we remand. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s denial of Linarez de Leon’s CAT claim because Linarez de Leon failed to show it is more likely than not he would be tortured by the Guatemalan government, or with its consent or acquiescence. See Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir. 2008). Thus, Linarez de Leon’s CAT claim fails. In denying Linarez de Leon’s asylum and withholding of removal claims, the agency found Linarez de Leon failed to establish a nexus to a protected ground. When the IJ and BIA issued their decisions in this case, they did not have the benefit of this court’s decisions in Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder, 707 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc), Cordoba v. Holder, 726 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2013), and PirirBoc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2014), or the BIA’s decisions in Matter of M-E-V-G-, 26 I. & N. Dec. 227 (BIA 2014), and Matter of W-G-R-, 2 09-73835 26 I. & N. Dec. 208 (BIA 2014). Thus, we remand Linarez de Leon’s asylum and withholding of removal claims to determine the impact, if any, of these decisions. See INS v. Ventura, 537 U.S. 12, 16-18 (2002) (per curiam). In light of this remand, we do not reach Linarez de Leon’s remaining challenges to the agency’s denial of his asylum and withholding of removal claims at this time. Each party shall bear its own costs for this petition for review. PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part; GRANTED IN PART; REMANDED. 3 09-73835
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