UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-1273
NINI GUEHI,
Petitioner,
versus
MICHAEL B. MUKASEY, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals. (A97-940-773)
Submitted: January 25, 2008 Decided: March 7, 2008
Before TRAXLER, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Nancy Kelly, John Willshire, HARVARD IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE CLINIC
OF GREATER BOSTON LEGAL SERVICES, Boston, Massachusetts, for
Petitioner. Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, Carl H.
McIntyre, Jr., Assistant Director, Susan K. Houser, Senior
Litigation Counsel, 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:
Nini Guehi, a native and citizen of the Ivory Coast,
petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals (“Board”) affirming the immigration judge’s decision
denying her requests for asylum, withholding of removal, and
protection under the Convention Against Torture.
In her petition for review, Guehi first asserts that the
Board erred in finding she failed to establish by clear and
convincing evidence that she filed her asylum application within
one year of her arrival in the United States. We lack jurisdiction
to review this determination pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(3)
(2000), even in light of the passage of the REAL ID Act of 2005,
Pub. L. No. 109-13, 119 Stat. 231. See Almuhtaseb v. Gonzales, 453
F.3d 743, 747-48 (6th Cir. 2006) (collecting cases). Given this
jurisdictional bar, we cannot review the underlying merits of
Guehi’s asylum claim.
Guehi also contends that the Board and immigration judge
erred in denying her request for withholding of removal. “[A]n
alien asserting a claim for withholding of removal on persecution
grounds must show that it is more likely than not that her life or
freedom would be threatened in the proposed country of removal
because of her race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion.” Niang v. Gonzales,
492 F.3d 505, 510 (4th Cir. 2007) (internal quotation marks and
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citation omitted). Based on our review of the record, we find that
Guehi failed to make the requisite showing before the immigration
court. We therefore uphold the denial of her request for
withholding of removal.
We also find that substantial evidence supports the
denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture. To obtain
such relief, an applicant must establish 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) (2007). We
find that Guehi failed to sustain her burden of proof before the
immigration court.
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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