NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUN 20 2018 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT JOSE GILBERTO RAMOS-GUZMAN, No. 14-72590 Petitioner, Agency No. A200-150-396 v. MEMORANDUM* JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted February 6, 2018** Submission Vacated February 15, 2018 Resubmitted June 19, 2018 Seattle, Washington Before: FISHER, GOULD, and PAEZ, Circuit Judges. Petitioner Jose Gilberto Ramos-Guzman, a native and citizen of El Salvador, filed applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) relief. The IJ and BIA denied Ramos-Guzman all three forms of * 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). relief. Ramos-Guzman appeals the IJ’s and the BIA’s determinations related to withholding of removal and CAT relief. We have jurisdiction to review this appeal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252, and we deny the petition. Ramos-Guzman argues that the IJ erred by determining that he had not alleged membership in a particular social group under a recently clarified standard, and that the case should be remanded for the IJ to apply the new standard. Ramos- Guzman argues that the BIA erred by not conducting an individualized assessment of his alleged social groups. We need not remand for a determination by the IJ because the BIA applied the correct standard on an issue of law. Reyes v. Lynch, 842 F.3d 1125, 1140 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Where the BIA conducts its own review of the evidence and law rather than adopting the IJ’s decision, our review is limited to the BIA’s decision, except to the extent that the IJ’s opinion is expressly adopted.”) (internal quotations omitted); Pirir-Boc v. Holder, 750 F.3d 1077, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014) (“Whether a group constitutes a ‘particular social group’ is a question of law.”). We review the BIA’s determination de novo. Pirir-Boc, 750 F.3d at 1081. Ramos-Guzman asserted two social groups: (1) students who refuse to participate in gang activity, and (2) young men who no longer have family in El Salvador. The BIA concluded that under recent BIA decisions, Matter of M-E-V- G, 26 I. & N. Dec. 227 (BIA 2014), and Matter of W-G-R, 26 I. & N. Dec. 208 (BIA 2014), these social groups were not socially distinct or particular, 2 respectively. The BIA did not err because “young men” is not sufficiently particular as to “provide a clear benchmark for determining who falls within the group.” See W-G-R, 26 I. & N. Dec. at 214–15 (noting that a group of young working class urban males of military age had previously been found to lack particularity). Further, Ramos-Guzman did not give evidence that El Salvadoran society has recognized students who refuse to participate in gang activity as a socially distinct group. See M-E-V-G, ...
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