NILDELSON PALACIOS-GERARDO, AKA Rifo Moniker v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
NILDELSON PALACIOS-GERARDO,
AKA Rifo Moniker,
Petitioner,
v.
JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
No. 15-70047
Agency No. A205-764-865
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted June 26, 2017**
Before: PAEZ, BEA, and MURGUIA, Circuit Judges.
Nildelson Palacios-Gerardo, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for
review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an
immigration judge’s decision denying his application for withholding of removal
and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
FILED
JUL 3 2017
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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2 15-70047
jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review questions of law de novo, Cerezo v.
Mukasey, 512 F.3d 1163, 1166 (9th Cir. 2008), except to the extent that deference
is owed to the BIA’s determination of the governing statutes and regulations,
Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 535 (9th Cir. 2004). We review for
substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d
1066, 1070 (9th Cir. 2008). We deny the petition for review.
The agency did not err in finding Palacios-Gerardo failed to establish
membership in a cognizable social group. See Reyes v. Lynch, 842 F.3d 1125,
1137-38 (9th Cir. 2016) (proposed social group of former gang members who have
returned to El Salvador is not cognizable); Arteaga v. Mukasey, 511 F.3d 940, 945
(9th Cir. 2007) (tattooed former gang members does not constitute a particular
social group). Thus, we deny the petition as to his withholding of removal claim.
Substantial evidence supports the agency’s denial of Palacios-Gerardo’s
CAT claim because he did not demonstrate it is more likely than not he would be
tortured by or with the consent or acquiescence of the government if returned to El
Salvador. See Silaya, 524 F.3d at 1073.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.

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