NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JAN 15 2019
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
SAMUEL SANCHEZ-RODRIGUEZ, No. 15-73057
Petitioner, Agency No. A078-099-948
v.
MEMORANDUM*
MATTHEW G. WHITAKER, Acting
Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted January 11, 2019**
Pasadena, California
Before: TASHIMA and WATFORD, Circuit Judges, and ROBRENO,*** District
Judge.
Samuel Sanchez-Rodriguez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for
review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
***
The Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno, United States District Judge for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.
Page 2 of 2
from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for
withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. We
deny the petition for review because substantial evidence supports the agency’s
adverse credibility determination.
Sanchez-Rodriguez claims that he fears persecution upon return to Mexico
based primarily on abuse he suffered in the 1980s, but in 1999 he stated in sworn
testimony to an immigration official that he did not fear being returned to Mexico
and would not be harmed upon return. In 2011, he again stated in sworn testimony
that he was not afraid to return to Mexico. We cannot say on this record that the IJ
and BIA lacked a basis for their adverse credibility determination. See Li v.
Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 959, 962–63 (9th Cir. 2004); see also Liu v. Holder, 640 F.3d
918, 925–26 (9th Cir. 2011).
Because there was a basis for doubting his credibility, the IJ and BIA could
properly consider Sanchez-Rodriguez’s failure to provide reasonably available
corroborating evidence. Singh v. Holder, 638 F.3d 1264, 1272 (9th Cir. 2011); Li,
378 F.3d at 964. His failure to provide such corroboration, such as testimony or a
statement from his brother who lives in the United States and knows of the alleged
persecution, further supports the adverse credibility determination.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
Samuel Sanchez-Rodriguez v. Matthew Whitaker
Combined Opinion