Tetemke Mekonen Woldesmayate v. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service

974 F.2d 1344 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Tetemke Mekonen WOLDESMAYATE, Petitioner, v. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent. No. 91-70073. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted June 4, 1992. Decided Sept. 9, 1992. Before EUGENE A. WRIGHT, CANBY and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM * 2 Tetemke Mekonen Woldesmayate, a citizen of Ethiopia, challenges the denial of his application for political asylum and waiver of deportation. He also contends that the immigration judge deprived him of his right to counsel by denying his request for a continuance. We deny the petition for review. DISCUSSION I. ELIGIBILITY FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM 3 Under 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (a), the Attorney General has discretion to grant asylum to "refugees." INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421 , 428 n. 5 (1987). The Immigration and Naturalization Act in turn defines a "refugee" as a person who is unable to return to his country…