Case: 17-60841 Document: 00514714235 Page: 1 Date Filed: 11/07/2018 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 17-60841 United States Court of Appeals Summary Calendar Fifth Circuit FILED November 7, 2018 JOEL CALINDERS-GUERRA, Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Petitioner v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS, III, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A098 117 728 Before SMITH, WIENER, and WILLETT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Joel Calinders-Guerra is a native and citizen of Guatemala who entered the United States in 2004 without having been admitted or paroled. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denied his second motion to reopen in absentia removal proceedings, finding that he had not provided sufficient evidence that he would suffer persecution in Guatemala based on his membership in a particular social group. He filed a timely petition for review. * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 17-60841 Document: 00514714235 Page: 2 Date Filed: 11/07/2018 No. 17-60841 This court reviews the denial of a motion to reopen under a “highly deferential abuse-of-discretion standard, regardless of the basis of the alien’s request for relief.” Gomez-Palacios v. Holder, 560 F.3d 354, 358 (5th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). Religious Persecution Calinders-Guerra faults the BIA for failing to address his claim of religious persecution. His attached asylum application stated that he was seeking relief from removal based on “religion” as well as “membership in a particular social group,” but he did not argue religious persecution in his motion to reopen. Because Calinders-Guerra did not “raise, present, or mention” the issue of religious persecution in his motion to reopen, he has failed to satisfy the exhaustion requirement of 8 U.S.C. § 1252(d)(1), and this court lacks jurisdiction to consider the issue on appeal. Omari v. Holder, 562 F.3d 314, 321 (5th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Changed Country Conditions Calinders-Guerra claims that the BIA erred in failing to consider his claim of changed country conditions. Because the BIA determined that Calinders-Guerra had failed to establish prima facie eligibility for asylum because he had not shown persecution based on a particular social group, it had no need to decide whether he had also presented material evidence of changed country conditions. See Ogbemudia v. INS, 988 F.2d 595, 600 (5th Cir. 1993). Social Group Persecution According to Calinders-Guerra, he is eligible for asylum because he fears persecution if returned to Guatemala based on membership in a particular social group consisting of his family. He claimed that after he fled Guatemala, his family experienced “threats and extreme violence.” His brother had been 2 Case: 17-60841 Document: 00514714235 Page: 3 Date Filed: 11/07/2018 No. 17-60841 attacked multiple times by unknown assailants and had gone into hiding in another town. Three of his cousins had been murdered. His sister had fled ...
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