Opinion
No. 12-2469
07-16-2013
BASIMA POTCHO, Petitioner, v. ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney General, Respondent.
Randall L. Johnson, JOHNSON & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Arlington, Virginia, for Appellant. Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Russell J.E. Verby, Senior Litigation Counsel, Elizabeth R. Chapman, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent.
UNPUBLISHED
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Before KEENAN, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges. Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion. Randall L. Johnson, JOHNSON & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Arlington, Virginia, for Appellant. Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Russell J.E. Verby, Senior Litigation Counsel, Elizabeth R. Chapman, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Basima Potcho, a native and citizen of Togo, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) dismissing her appeal of the Immigration Judge's decision denying relief from removal. Potcho disputes the finding that she failed to qualify for asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
A determination regarding eligibility for asylum or withholding of removal is affirmed if supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 (1992). Administrative findings of fact, including findings on credibility, are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to decide to the contrary. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B) (2006). Legal issues are reviewed de novo, "affording appropriate deference to the BIA's interpretation of the INA and any attendant regulations." Li Fang Lin v. Mukasey, 517 F.3d 685, 691-92 (4th Cir. 2008). This court will reverse the Board only if "the evidence . . . presented was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution." Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 483-84; see Rusu v. INS, 296 F.3d 316, 325 n.14 (4th Cir. 2002).
We have reviewed the evidence of record and conclude that substantial evidence supports the agency's finding that Potcho failed to meet her statutory burdens. We therefore uphold the denial of Potcho's requests for asylum and withholding of removal. See Camera v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 361, 367 (4th Cir. 2004) ("Because the burden of proof for withholding of removal is higher than for asylum — even though the facts that must be proved are the same — an applicant who is ineligible for asylum is necessarily ineligible for withholding of removal under [8 U.S.C.] § 1231(b)(3).").
Finally, to qualify for CAT protection, a petitioner bears the burden of demonstrating that "it is more likely than not that he or she would be tortured if removed to the proposed country of removal." 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c)(2) (2013). We have reviewed the evidence of record and conclude that substantial evidence supports the agency's denial of this relief.
Accordingly, we deny the petition for review. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
PETITION DENIED