Alfredo Reyes v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Alfredo Lim Reyes, a native and citizen of the Philippines, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence factual findings, Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006), and we deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that, even if Reyes was credible, Reyes’s problems with the New People’s Army in the Philippines did not rise to the level of persecution. See Hoxha v. Ashcroft, 319 F.3d 1179, 1182 (9th Cir.2003); see also 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 and citation omitted). Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s finding that Reyes did not demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in the Philippines. See Nagoulko v. INS, 333 F.3d 1012, 1018 (9th Cir.2003)…