Deraj v. Gonzales

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 04-1935 LULJETA DERAJ, Petitioner, versus ALBERTO R. GONZALES, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Submitted: March 7, 2005 Decided: April 11, 2005 Before MOTZ, TRAXLER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion. Jan Allen Reiner, New York, New York, for Petitioner. Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, Richard M. Evans, Assistant Director, Nancy E. Friedman, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Luljeta Deraj, a native and citizen of Albania, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (Board) order denying her asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture.* We will reverse the Board only if the evidence “‘was so compelling that no reasonable fact finder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution.’” Rusu v. INS, 296 F.3d 316, 325 n.14 (4th Cir. 2002) (quoting INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84 (1992)). We have reviewed the evidence of record, the immigration judge’s decision, and the Board’s order and find substantial evidence supports the conclusion that Deraj failed to establish the past persecution or well-founded fear of future persecution necessary to establish eligibility for asylum. See 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(a) (2004) (stating that the burden of proof is on the alien to establish eligibility for asylum); Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 483 (same). Accordingly, we deny Deraj’s petition for review. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. PETITION DENIED * Deraj does not seek review of that part of the order that denied withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. - 2 -