Jose Bracamontes-Rodriguez v. Matthew Whitaker, 16-73059

Petitioner Jose Martin Bracamontes-Rodriguez, a Mexican national, sought withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3) and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
An Immigration Judge denied relief; the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed, incorporating the IJ decision.
Bracamontes alleged past threats by criminal actors tied to disputes over family land and feared future persecution based on family membership and retaliation related to his sister’s murder in the U.S.
He asserted a proposed particular social group of “the brother of his murdered sister” and claimed a risk of torture by Mexican security forces or with their acquiescence.
The Agency found no past persecution (no physical harm, only vague threats), concluded family members now live safely and the land is no longer owned by the family, and determined the proposed social group was too narrow (includes only him).
The Agency also found Bracamontes showed no individualized risk of torture; generalized evidence of police torture in the region did not demonstrate he would more likely than not be tortured.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether petitioner suffered past persecution	Bracamontes: threats and past attacks on family amount to past persecution	Agency: no physical harm to him; threats were vague, not persecution	Denied — substantial evidence supports no past persecution
Whether petitioner has a well-founded fear / likelihood of future persecution based on family membership	Bracamontes: mafia targeted family for land; he would be targeted as family member	Agency: family no longer owns land; relatives live safely in hometown; risk not likely	Denied — substantial evidence supports no likelihood of future persecution
Whether proposed particular social group qualifies	Bracamontes: "brother of his murdered sister" is a protected group	Agency: group is overly narrow and defined by a single individual; cannot qualify	Denied — group does not qualify
Whether petitioner is entitled to CAT relief	Bracamontes: police in region have tortured/acquiesced; he faces risk	Agency: evidence shows generalized risk, not particularized risk to him	Denied — no individualized likelihood of torture

Medina-Lara v. Holder, 771 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2014) (reviews IJ decision incorporated by BIA and explains standards of review)
Rios v. Lynch, 807 F.3d 1123 (9th Cir. 2015) (remand required where BIA failed to consider family-based group membership)
Dhital v. Mukasey, 532 F.3d 1044 (9th Cir. 2008) (generalized risk of torture insufficient for CAT relief)