Mejia-Mendez v. Bondi

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUN 11 2025 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT SELVIN MEJIA-MENDEZ, No. 24-6072 Agency No. Petitioner, A095-759-483 v. MEMORANDUM* PAMELA BONDI, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Department of Homeland Security Submitted June 9, 2025 ** Pasadena, California Before: CLIFTON, IKUTA, and FORREST, Circuit Judges. Petitioner Selvin Mejia-Mendez, a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions for review of an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) order affirming an asylum officer’s negative reasonable-fear determination. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, see Andrade-Garcia v. Lynch, 828 F.3d 829, 833 (9th Cir. 2016), and we deny the petition. * 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).  We review an IJ’s reasonable-fear determination for substantial evidence. See Bartolome v. Sessions, 904 F.3d 803, 811 (9th Cir. 2018). To be eligible for withholding of removal, Mejia-Mendez must show a reasonable possibility that his membership in a particular social group would be a reason he would be persecuted. See Garcia v. Wilkinson, 988 F.3d 1136, 1146 (9th Cir. 2021).1 Even assuming Mejia-Mendez’s proposed social group of “imputed gang members in Honduras” is cognizable, substantial evidence supports the agency’s conclusion that Mejia-Mendez has not established the requisite nexus to his feared persecution. Mejia-Mendez’s abdominal tattoo was not visible when he was kidnapped by MS-13 gang members over a decade ago, and two other individuals who did not have suspicious tattoos were also kidnapped. See Zetino v. Holder, 622 F.3d 1007, 1016 (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that a “desire to be free from harassment by criminals motivated by theft or random violence by gang members bears no nexus to a protected ground”). And even after the gang learned of Mejia- Mendez’s tattoo, they ultimately released him. Although Mejia-Mendez worries that other gangs may be “more aggressive” than MS-13 and will “strip you to see if you don’t have any tattoos,” a reasonable adjudicator could conclude that Mejia- Mendez is not reasonably likely to be persecuted because of his imputed gang 1 Mejia-Mendez has waived any challenge to the agency’s conclusion that he has no reasonable fear of torture in Honduras. See Lapadat v. Bondi, 128 F.4th 1047, 1054 n.3 (9th Cir. 2025). 2 24-6072 membership from a tattoo that is not ordinarily visible. PETITION DENIED. 2 2 Petitioner’s Motion to Stay Removal (Dkt. 2) is DENIED. 3 24-6072