Opinion
No. 08-60607 Summary Calendar.
June 23, 2009.
Elizabeth M. Mendoza Macias, Houston, TX, for Petitioners.
Thomas Ward Hussey, Director, John Clifford Cunningham, Holly Michele Smith, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC, Sharon A. Hudson, U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services, Houston, TX, for Respondent.
Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals, BIA Nos. A70 774 040, A 70 774 041.
Before GARZA, DeMOSS, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
Alma Victoria Rivera-Mejicanos and Cristopher A. Rivera, natives and citizens of Guatemala, have filed a petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) order denying their application for withholding of removal.
The petitioners argue that they are eligible for withholding for removal because they experienced past persecution and have a well-founded fear of future persecution. This court reviews the BIA's rulings of law de novo and its findings of fact, including its findings regarding withholding of removal, for substantial evidence. Zhu v. Gonzales, 493 F.3d 588, 594 (5th Cir. 2007). Under the substantial evidence standard, this court may not reverse the BIA's factual findings unless the evidence compels a contrary conclusion. Id.
The record does not compel a conclusion contrary to the BIA's finding that the petitioners did not demonstrate past persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. See id. at 596-97; 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(b)(1). The record also does not compel a conclusion contrary to the BIA's finding that the petitioners did not meet their burden of proof establishing that it was more likely than not that they would be persecuted on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion if they returned to Guatemala. See 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(b)(2); cf. Zhu, 493 F.3d at 597. Accordingly, the petition for review is DENIED.