Jianshi Xie v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Jianshi Xie, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) 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. See Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir. 2006). We deny the petition for review.

Xie does not contend he suffered past persecution in China, nor does he pursue the family planning claim he raised to the agency below. See Martinez-Serrano v. INS, 94 F.3d 1256, 1259-60 (9th Cir.1996) (issues not specifically raised and argued in a party’s opening brief are waived). We do not consider the background information from the 2012 Human Rights Report referred to in Xie’s opening brief. See Fisher v. INS, 79 F.3d 955, 963 (9th Cir.1996) (en banc) (this court’s review is limited to the administrative record). Substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that Xie failed to demonstrate he had a well-founded fear of future persecution due to his participation in a Christian house church. See Gu v. Gonzales, 454 F.3d…