Case: 20-60848 Document: 00516103555 Page: 1 Date Filed: 11/22/2021 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED November 22, 2021 No. 20-60848 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Florinda Josefina Lopez Diaz, Petitioner, versus Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General, Respondent. Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A208 841 361 Before Davis, Jones, and Elrod, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Florinda Josefina Lopez Diaz, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions this court for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the decision of the Immigration Judge (IJ) denying her application for withholding of removal. Lopez Diaz contends that the * Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4. Case: 20-60848 Document: 00516103555 Page: 2 Date Filed: 11/22/2021 No. 20-60848 BIA erred in its conclusion that she had not established past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of her political opinion or race. We review findings of fact, including the denial of withholding of removal, under the substantial evidence standard. Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2005). This standard requires that the decision (1) be based on the evidence presented and (2) be substantially reasonable. Sharma v. Holder, 729 F.3d 407, 411 (5th Cir. 2013). We may not reverse factual findings unless the evidence “compels” reversal—i.e., the evidence must be “so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could conclude against it.” Wang v. Holder, 569 F.3d 531, 536-37 (5th Cir. 2009). It is the petitioner’s burden to demonstrate that the evidence compels a contrary conclusion. Zhao v. Gonzales, 404 F.3d 295, 306 (5th Cir. 2005). Lopez Diaz asserts first that she experienced past persecution on account of her political opinion. She explains that her father once participated in some political activity several years before he was murdered and that, after her father’s death, she also received a death threat from the people who had killed her father. Lopez Diaz also contends that she experienced past persecution when, on a single occasion, she was robbed in Guatemala City, ostensibly because of her Mam race. For similar reasons and because her daughter suffers from a chronic medical condition, Lopez Diaz also urges that she will be the victim of future persecution if she is returned to Guatemala. The IJ and BIA concluded that Lopez Diaz had not demonstrated past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground. Lopez Diaz does not identify any political opinion she holds or that can otherwise be imputed to her, and she merely speculates that she was robbed because of her Mam race. Thus, she has not pointed to any 2 Case: 20-60848 Document: 00516103555 Page: 3 Date Filed: 11/22/2021 No. 20-60848 evidence that compels a conclusion she was or …
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