Agustin Benavides v. Jefferson Sessions, III


NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUN 15 2018 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT AGUSTIN BENAVIDES, No. 17-71963 Petitioner, Agency No. A094-425-031 v. MEMORANDUM* JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted June 12, 2018** Before: RAWLINSON, CLIFTON, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges. Agustin Benavides, 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 asylum and withholding of removal. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for * 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). substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Zetino v. Holder, 622 F.3d 1007, 1012 (9th Cir. 2010). We dismiss in part and deny in part the petition for review. We lack jurisdiction to consider Benavides’s contentions regarding political opinion that he raises for the first time in his opening brief. See Barron v. Ashcroft, 358 F.3d 674, 677-78 (9th Cir. 2004) (petitioner must exhaust issues or claims in administrative proceedings below). Substantial evidence supports the agency’s conclusion that Benavides failed to establish that the harm he experienced or fears in El Salvador was or would be on account of a protected ground. See id. at 1016 (An applicant’s “desire to be free from harassment by criminals motivated by theft or random violence by gang members bears no nexus to a protected ground”); Delgado-Ortiz v. Holder, 600 F.3d 1148, 1151 (9th Cir. 2010) (“Asylum is not available to victims of indiscriminate violence, unless they are singled out on account of a protected ground.”). Thus, Benavides’s asylum and withholding of removal claims fail. PETITION FOR REVIEW IS DISMISSED in part; DENIED in part. 2 17-71963 17-71963 Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ca9 9th Cir. Agustin Benavides v. Jefferson Sessions, III 15 June 2018 Agency Unpublished 8cd1e90f01e911405006e6f658505f1327a49326

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