Martin Fernandez Unzueta v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Martin Fernandez Unzueta petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision denying relief from removal. For the reasons that follow, we deny the petition.

The parties have framed the main issue as whether Petitioner was convicted of a particularly serious crime, and there have been extensive proceedings and briefing on that topic. Nevertheless, we resolve the case without reaching that question.

1. The immigration judge, whose decision the BIA adopted, did not abuse his discretion in denying asylum on the ground that Petitioner did not warrant relief as a matter of discretion. See generally Kalubi v. Ashcroft, 364 F.3d 1134, 1139 (9th Cir.2004) (discussing the scope of our review of the BIA’s discretionary denial of asylum). Indeed, Petitioner did not challenge, in this court, this alternative ground of decision.

2. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that Petitioner does not have an objectively reasonable fear of future persecution warranting withholding of removal. See Gui v. INS, 280 F.3d 1217, 1229 (9th Cir.2002) (stating the standard of review). The BIA held that Petitioner established past persecution and…