Case: 19-15078 Date Filed: 07/16/2020 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 19-15078 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A206-454-240 JUAN JUAN-FELIPE, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (July 16, 2020) Before WILSON, ROSENBAUM, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 19-15078 Date Filed: 07/16/2020 Page: 2 of 8 In this immigration case, Juan Juan-Felipe, a native and citizen of Guatemala, applied for relief from removal from the United States on the ground that he had been and likely would be persecuted in Guatemala due to his “membership in a particular social group.” See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(b)(1)(A), 1101(a)(42)(A). The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) determined that he was not eligible for asylum or withholding of removal because his proposed social group—young males targeted for their age and sex who expressly oppose gang practices and values and who wish to protect their family members against such practices—was not viable based on BIA precedent. Juan-Felipe now petitions this Court for review, arguing that his proposed group should qualify because young males in Guatemala are targeted due to the immutable characteristic of their sex. We review the BIA’s decision as the final agency judgment and “do not consider issues that were not reached by the BIA.” Gonzalez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 820 F.3d 399, 403 (11th Cir. 2016). We review factual findings under the substantial- evidence test. Id. Legal questions, including whether a proposed social group qualifies as a “particular social group” within the meaning of the INA, are reviewed de novo, with appropriate deference to the BIA’s reasonable interpretation of the INA. Id. at 403–04. The government has the discretion to grant asylum if the applicant establishes that he is a “refugee.” 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(A). A “refugee” is someone who is 2 Case: 19-15078 Date Filed: 07/16/2020 Page: 3 of 8 unable or unwilling to return to his country of nationality “because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A) (emphasis added). Similarly, an applicant for withholding of removal must establish that his “life or freedom would be threatened in th[e] country [of removal] because of [his] race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A) (emphasis added). Because Congress did not speak to what constitutes a “particular social group” under the INA, we have deferred to the BIA’s reasonable formulation of that term. Gonzalez, 820 F.3d at 404. A “particular social group,” in the BIA’s formulation, has three defining characteristics: (1) immutability; (2) particularity; and (3) and social distinction. See id. Immutability means the group shares a common characteristic that is either immutable or fundamental to its members’ individual identities or consciences. Castillo-Arias v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 446 F.3d 1190, 1196– 97 (11th Cir. 2006). Particularity means ...
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