NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION File Name: 19a0126n.06 Case No. 18-3520 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Mar 15, 2019 JONATHAN EDUARDO CRUZ-GUZMAN, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) Petitioner, ) ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW v. ) FROM THE UNITED STATES ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, ) APPEALS ) Respondent. ) ) BEFORE: BATCHELDER, ROGERS, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges. THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Jonathan Cruz-Guzman seeks review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order denying his application for asylum. We deny his petition. I. Cruz is a native of El Salvador.1 He grew up in a neighborhood dominated by a gang known as 18th Street. 18th Street’s rival gang, MS-13, sought to recruit Cruz and his friends to join MS-13 as “spies” so they could relay information about 18th Street activities in the area. After they refused, MS-13 began threatening and assaulting them. This harassment culminated when members of MS-13 murdered Cruz’s friend Brian. Later that week, one of them told Cruz “if [he] 1 All names are spelled as they appear in Petitioner’s brief. Case No. 18-3520, Cruz-Guzman v. Barr was just as stupid as Brian, then the same thing would happen to [him].” AR 243. Shortly after this threat, Cruz fled El Salvador. Immigration authorities apprehended Cruz upon his entry into the United States near Hidalgo, Texas. In his deportation proceeding, Cruz conceded that he was subject to removal but sought asylum based on his fear of gang violence if he returned home. While his asylum application was pending, his friends and family in El Salvador faced continued threats and violence. MS-13 killed one friend, while 18th Street killed another. Both gangs extorted protection money from Cruz’s mother. When she missed a payment to 18th Street, members of the gang broke into her house, beat her, and threatened to rape Cruz’s sister. During Cruz’s asylum hearing, he detailed the violence and harassment he, his family, and his friends had all faced in El Salvador. He explained that he feared further violence from both MS-13 and 18th Street if he returned home: MS-13 because of his refusal to join them, and 18th Street as punishment for his mother’s refusal to pay protection money. While the Immigration Judge found Cruz’s testimony credible, she denied Cruz’s asylum application because, among other things, Cruz failed to establish that he faced this persecution “on account of” a protected ground. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). Accordingly, the judge ordered Cruz removed to El Salvador. Cruz appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (the “Board”), which affirmed. Cruz then petitioned for review in this court. We have jurisdiction to review the Board’s decision under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review administrative factual findings under the deferential substantial- evidence standard: we accept them “unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary.” Id. § 1252(b)(4)(B). -2- Case No. 18-3520, Cruz-Guzman v. Barr II. The Attorney General may grant asylum to an applicant who proves he is ...
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