Inmer Alvarado-Hernandez v. Matthew G. Whitaker

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 18-1733

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Inmer Alexander Alvarado-Hernandez

lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner

v.

Matthew G. Whitaker, Acting Attorney General of the United States

lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent

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Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals

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Submitted: January 17, 2019 Filed: January 23, 2019

[Unpublished]

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Before BENTON, BOWMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Guatemalan citizen Inmer Alexander Alvarado-Hernandez petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissing his appeal from the

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decision of an immigration judge (IJ) denying his request for asylum and withholding of removal.1 Having jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, this court denies the petition.

After careful review, this court concludes that substantial evidence supports the determination that Alvarado-Hernandez failed to show past persecution in Guatemala, or a well-founded fear of future persecution there, due to any protected ground. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1) (asylum requirements); Garcia-Milian v. Lynch, 825 F.3d 943, 945 (8th Cir. 2016) (standard of review); Constanza v. Holder, 647 F.3d 749, 753 (8th Cir. 2011) (particular social group). Having failed to satisfy his burden of proof for his asylum claim, Alvarado-Hernandez has necessarily failed to satisfy the more rigorous standard for withholding of removal. See Matul-Hernandez v. Holder, 685 F.3d 707, 713 (8th Cir. 2012).

The petition is denied. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.

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1 The IJ’s denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture is not before this panel. See Chay-Velasquez v. Ashcroft, 367 F.3d 751, 756 (8th Cir. 2004) (claim not raised in opening brief is waived).