NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 21a0488n.06 No. 20-4172 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Oct 27, 2021 ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk BEISER PEREZ-RAMIREZ, ) ) Petitioner, ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW ) FROM THE UNITED STATES v. ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION ) APPEALS MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, ) ) Respondent. ) OPINION ) Before:ROGERS, STRANCH, and DONALD, Circuit Judges. ROGERS, Circuit Judge. Beiser Perez-Ramirez, a Guatemalan citizen, appeals the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. Perez’s asylum and withholding of removal claims require him to prove that he belongs to a particular social group and has a fear of persecution based on his membership in that group. However, Perez’s proposed group of “young Guatemalan men between the ages of 15 and 25 who have opposed gang activity and lack protection” is too vague and indeterminate to qualify as a particular social group. Perez also does not qualify for relief under the Convention Against Torture, because he has not shown that the state would acquiesce in torture. Perez’s application is based on his fear of being killed for resisting gang recruitment. Perez lived in a small village in Guatemala with his mother, grandparents, and four siblings. His father Case No. 20-4172, Perez-Ramirez v. Garland permanently moved to the United States when he was 5 years old. When Perez was about 15 or 16 years old, three gang members beat and robbed him, and told Perez that they wanted to recruit him. The gang members also instructed Perez to “think about what was convenient for [him] because being with them would help [him] make a lot more money than [he] would make by working,” and said they would “come look for [him] later.” Perez knew the assailants were gang members because they identified themselves as such and had tattoos, chains, and a knife that were typical of gang members. About a month later, the same gang members beat Perez again. They asked Perez if he “had thought about what they had told [him],” and threatened to break his arm and fingers if he did not join the gang. Perez said he would not join the gang, and the gang members responded by beating him further and warning him that they would continue to follow him until he joined. The gang members also told Perez that they wanted him to join because they “wanted to gain territory” and further their criminal exploits. The same three gang members, along with two additional members, pursued Perez for a third time a year later. Perez ran away and hid until they passed him. After the third incident, Perez told his mother that he “couldn’t take it anymore.” Perez did not report any of the attacks to the police because the closest police station was about a two-hour drive away and the police “never” came to his village. The road to the village was in poor …
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