NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 17-2099 _____________ SELVIN JOSUE MARTINEZ-ALMENDARES, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent ____________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. A208-542-211) Immigration Judge: Honorable Silvia A. Arellano Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) April 12, 2018 Before: CHAGARES, VANASKIE, Circuit Judges, and BOLTON, District Judge ∗. (Opinion Filed: May 2, 2018) ____________ OPINION † ____________ ∗ The Honorable Susan R. Bolton, Senior United States District Judge for the District of Arizona, 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. CHAGARES, Circuit Judge. Selvin Martinez-Almendares (“Martinez-Almendares”) petitions for review of his order of removal entered by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The BIA affirmed the decision of the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denying Martinez-Almendares’ petition for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (the “CAT”). We will deny his petition for review. I. Because we write solely for the parties, we will only briefly summarize the essential facts. Martinez-Almendares is a native and citizen of Honduras. He is a gay man, although he has largely kept his sexual identity secret. Before he came to the United States, he told only two friends in Honduras, both gay men, about his sexual identity. He knew other gay men who lived openly and were not persecuted for their sexual identities. The only instance he could recall of a gay man being mistreated because of his sexual identity was when a private citizen punched an acquaintance named Arturo after Arturo made an unwelcome advance at a bar. Martinez-Almendares believed that others questioned his sexual identity due to his behavior and mannerisms. He never told his family that he was gay because he thought that, if he did, his family might not accept him and that his father might hit him. Although Martinez-Almendares testified that he had seen television reports showing gay men who were targeted for violent crimes by gangs, he was not aware of the details of those incidents, nor was he personally aware of any such incidents. He testified 2 he believed the police could not protect gay men because they were unable to protect any Honduran citizens from gang violence. In August 2015, Martinez-Almendares was working as a clerk at a transportation company when a gang member entered the building, attacked Martinez-Almendares, and stole both his personal property and money from the cash registers. The gang member told Martinez-Almendares that the gang member would kill him if he called the police. Martinez-Almendares filed a police report after the robbery. Later, the gang attempted to extort Martinez-Almendares and his employer. At no point during any of these interactions did any gang member or police officer mention Martinez-Almendares’ sexuality. On October 8, 2015, Martinez-Almendares entered the United States and was taken into custody by Customs and Border Patrol agents. He ...
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