NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 18-1939 _____________ LUIS ALONZO CUELLAR MANZANO, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent ____________ On Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (A088-016-885) Immigration Judge: Honorable Daniel A. Morris Submitted under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) January 23, 2019 Before: CHAGARES, BIBAS, Circuit Judges, and SÁNCHEZ, Chief District Judge* (Filed: March 22, 2019) ____________ OPINION ____________ * The Honorable Juan R. Sánchez, Chief District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation. This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not constitute binding precedent. SÁNCHEZ, District Judge. Luis Alonzo Cuellar Manzano petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the “Board”) affirming an immigration judge’s denial of his application for withholding of removal pursuant to the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”) and relief pursuant to the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). For the following reasons, we will deny the petition in part, and dismiss it in part. I. As we write mainly for the parties, we only briefly recite the facts. On or about October 17, 2006, Cuellar Manzano, a native and citizen of El Salvador, entered the United States without proper documentation, seeking protection from gang violence and attempted recruitment. He was apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security shortly thereafter. On November 9, 2006, an immigration judge (IJ) ordered Cuellar Manzano removed pursuant to Cuellar Manzano’s “Stipulated Request for Order and Waiver of Hearing.” The Immigration and Naturalization Service deported Cuellar Manzano on December 12, 2006. On or about January 12, 2007, Cuellar Manzano reentered the United States. More than ten years later, on May 1, 2017, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Long Branch, New Jersey. The same day, his 2006 order of removal was reinstated. On July 17, 2017, Cuellar Manzano was referred to an IJ for further proceedings after he credibly expressed a reasonable fear of persecution or torture to an asylum officer. 2 After a hearing at which Cuellar Manzano testified and was represented by counsel, the IJ denied Cuellar Manzano’s request for withholding of removal and application for relief under CAT. As to his withholding claim, the IJ found Cuellar Manzano failed to establish past or likely future persecution on account of his membership in a particular social group. Addressing future persecution, the IJ found Cuellar Manzano was not entitled to relief because his proposed social group— "individuals in El Salvador targeted by gangs as a result of conflict with the gangs in their rule”—lacked social distinction. App. 16. The IJ also rejected Cuellar Manzano’s claim for withholding based on likely future political persecution. The IJ found there was insufficient evidence “the gangs viewed [Cuellar Manzano’s] resistance to gang recruitment as an expression of political opinion.” App. 17. Finally, the IJ rejected Cuellar Manzano’s claim for CAT relief, noting he failed ...
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