UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-2291
XIU XIN JIANG,
Petitioner,
versus
ALBERTO R. GONZALES, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals. (A78-746-466)
Submitted: January 17, 2007 Decided: January 29, 2007
Before WILKINSON, WILLIAMS, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Thomas M. Sweeny, Lenexa, Kansas, for Petitioner. Peter D.
Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, M. Jocelyn Lopez Wright,
Assistant Director, Brianne Whelan, 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:
Xiu Xin Jiang, a native and citizen of the People’s
Republic of China, petitions for review of an order of the Board of
Immigration Appeals (“Board”) adopting without opinion the
immigration judge’s decision denying his applications for asylum,
withholding from removal and withholding under the Convention
Against Torture (“CAT”). We deny the petition.
The INA authorizes the Attorney General to confer asylum
on any refugee. 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a) (2000). It defines a refugee
as a person unwilling or unable to return to his native country
“because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on
account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular
social group, or political opinion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A)
(2000).
An applicant can establish refugee status based on past
persecution in his native country on account of a protected ground.
8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b)(1) (2006). “An applicant who demonstrates
that he was the subject of past persecution is presumed to have a
well-founded fear of persecution.” Ngarurih v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d
182, 187 (4th Cir. 2004). Without regard to past persecution, an
alien can establish a well-founded fear of persecution on a
protected ground. Ngarurih, 371 F.3d at 187. An applicant has the
burden of demonstrating his eligibility for asylum. 8 C.F.R.
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§ 1208.13(a) (2006); Gonahasa v. INS, 181 F.3d 538, 541 (4th Cir.
1999).
A determination regarding eligibility for asylum or
withholding of removal is conclusive 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 are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be
compelled to decide to the contrary. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B)
(2000). 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.” Rusu v. INS, 296
F.3d 316, 325 n.14 (4th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks
omitted).
We find the record does not compel a different result.
The immigration judge’s finding that Jiang was not persecuted
because of a trait or characteristic listed under § 1101(a)(42)(A)
was supported by substantial evidence. In addition, there was no
evidence supporting Jiang’s contention he would be tortured if he
returned to China.
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 the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
PETITION DENIED
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