Rahman

MEMORANDUM **

*592 Mohammad Habibur Rahman, a native and citizen of Bangladesh, entered the United States without inspection. He was charged with illegal entry and ordered deported pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (a)(1)(B). He petitions for review of the BIA’s refusal to grant him asylum or withholding of deportation. We have jurisdiction pursuant to former 8 U.S.C. § 1105a, *** and we deny the petition for review.

DISCUSSION

To establish eligibility for asylum, Rahman “must show that he is unable or unwilling to return to his home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of ... political opinion.” See Zahedi v. INS, 222 F.3d 1157, 1162 (9th Cir.2000) (internal quotations omitted). He may do so by presenting “credible, direct, and specific evidence [demonstrating] an objectively reasonable basis for the claimed fear of persecution.” See Singh-Kaur v. INS, 183 F.3d 1147, 1149 (9th Cir.1999). Both the IJ and the BIA found that Rahman’s testimony was not credible because it was replete with inconsistencies when compared to his written application for asylum. Most notably, both found the record to be contradictory and inconsistent regarding the…