De Padilla v. US Attorney General

FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
NOV 23, 2010
JOHN LEY
CLERK
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 10-11398
Non-Argument Calendar
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Agency No. A097-959-585
PATRICIA LAZANO DE PADILLA,
OSCAR JAIME PADILLA MORENO,
lllllllllllllllllllll Petitioners,
versus
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
lllllllllllllllll llllRespondent.
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Petition for Review of a Decision of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
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(November 23, 2010)
Before WILSON, PRYOR and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Oscar Jaime Padilla and his wife, Patricia Lazano de Padilla, natives and

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citizens of Colombia, petition for review of the decision of the Board of
Immigration Appeals that denied Padilla’s application for withholding of removal.
8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3). The Board found that Padilla was not a member of a
“particular social group.” We deny the petition.
The Padillas challenge the findings that the social group fashioned by
Padilla was not “defined . . . with sufficient particularity” and was “insufficiently
socially visible.” The Padillas do not challenge the finding that their application
for asylum was untimely, which we lack jurisdiction to review. Mendoza v. U.S.
Att’y Gen., 327 F.3d 1283, 1287 (11th Cir. 2003). With respect to the petition to
review the denial of withholding of removal, we deny the petition for Padilla’s
wife because the regulation for this form of relief does not provide for derivative
benefits. See 8 C.F.R. § 208.16(c); Delgado v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 487 F.3d 855, 862
(11th Cir. 2007).
Substantial evidence supports the decision to deny Padilla’s application for
withholding of removal based on membership in a protected social group. A
group qualifies as a “particular social group” if its members share an immutable
characteristic and are visible socially. Castillo-Arias v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 446 F.3d
1190, 1196 (11th Cir. 2006). Padilla included as members of his social group
those professionals who were unwilling to collaborate and share their knowledge
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and skills with revolutionaries against the Colombian government. Although
members of Padilla’s proposed group might have undergone similar education and
training, their defining attribute is “[t]he risk of persecution” they face, which
“alone does not create a particular social group.” Id. at 1198. In addition, the
group described by Padilla lacks social visibility because countless persons could
declare membership based on any occupational skill they possess that is desired by
the revolutionaries.
PETITION DENIED.
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