Perera
Perera v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Mary Muriel Perera, a native and citizen of Sri Lanka, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision denying her request for asylum and withholding of deportation. We deny the petition.
We must uphold the BIA’s determination if it is supported by substantial evidence. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). To warrant reversal, Perera must show that “the evidence [she] presented was so compelling that no reasonable fact-finder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution.” Id. at 483-84 . Perera has not met this burden.
To establish eligibility for asylum, Per-era must demonstrate both an objectively reasonable and subjectively genuine fear of persecution on the basis of her political opinion. Meza-Manay v. INS, 139 F.3d 759, 763 (9th Cir.1998). Perera has failed to present compelling evidence that her fear was objectively reasonable. She returned to Sri Lanka for extended visits without incident five or six times after moving to Italy. In fact, she attended her mother’s public funeral in her hometown without being confronted by her alleged persecutors. This undermines her claim of a…