Mariano Pena v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Mariano Pena, a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings. Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d 1049, 1056 (9th Cir.2009). We deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s determination that, even if credible, Pena failed to demonstrate harm rising to the level of persecution. See Lim v. INS, 224 F.3d 929, 936 (9th Cir.2000) (“Threats standing alone ... constitute past persecution in only a small category of cases, and only when the threats are so menacing as to cause significant actual suffering or harm.”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Because Pena failed to demonstrate past persecution, he is not entitled to a rebuttable presumption of future persecution. See Molino-Estrada v. INS, 293 F.3d 1089, 1096 (9th Cir.2002). Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s finding that Pena failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution in…