Walter Hernandez-Villalta v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Walter Omar Hernandez-Villalta, a native and citizen of El Salvador, 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, applying the new standards governing adverse credibility determinations created by the REAL ID Act, Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039-40 (9th Cir.2010), and we deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s adverse credibility determination because Hernandez-Villalta made no mention of his political party volunteer work in his asylum application, see Husyev v. Mukasey, 528 F.3d 1172, 1183 (9th Cir.2008), and Hernandez-Villalta also failed to provide any corroboration of his political activities, see Mejia-Paiz v. INS, 111 F.3d 720 , 723-24 (9th Cir.1997). HernandezVillalta’s explanations for the discrepancies do not compel a contrary conclusion. See Rivera v. Mukasey, 508 F.3d 1271, 1275 (9th Cir.2007). In the absence of credible testimony, Hernandez-Villalta’s asylum and…