Inmer Alvarado-Hernandez v. Matthew G. Whitaker

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 18-1733 ___________________________

Inmer Alexander Alvarado-Hernandez

lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner

v.

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

lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent ____________

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

Submitted: January 17, 2019 Filed: January 23, 2019 [Unpublished] ____________

Before BENTON, BOWMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

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

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. ______________________________

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).

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