Milton Alexander Cortez v. ERIC H. HOLDER Jr., Attorney General

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).
HL/Inventory
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
MILTON ALEXANDER CORTEZ,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
No. 08-73207
Agency No. A098-854-378
MEMORANDUM *
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted February 16, 2010**
Before: FERNANDEZ, GOULD and M. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Milton Alexander Cortez, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for
review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing his appeal from an
immigration judge's decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of
FILED
MAR 04 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C OU R T OF APPE ALS

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removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). We have
jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review factual findings for substantial
evidence, Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 742 (9th Cir. 2008), and deny
the petition for review.
The record does not compel reversal of the IJ's conclusion that petitioner
failed to establish that the harm he suffered at the hands of gang members in El
Salvador was on account of a protected ground. See Ramos-Lopez v. Holder, 563
F.3d 855, 858-62 (9th Cir. 2009) (concluding that resistance to gang activity is not
a particular social group for the purpose of establishing nexus to a protected
ground); Molina-Morales v. INS, 237 F.3d 1048, 1051-52 (9th Cir. 2001) (personal
retribution is not persecution on account of a protected ground). Accordingly,
petitioner's asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT claims fail.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.

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