Javier Omar Giron-Rizo v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

85 F.3d 635 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Javier Omar GIRON-RIZO, Petitioner, v. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent. No. 94-70723. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted May 9, 1996. Decided May 16, 1996. Before: REINHARDT, KOZINSKI, and HAWKINS, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM * 2 The petitioner appeals from an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals affirming an immigration judge's decision that Giron-Rizo did not qualify for asylum or withholding of deportation. Because the Board conducted a de novo review and did not incorporate the immigration judge's decision, we review the decision of the Board. 3 Although Giron-Rizo, a citizen and native of Nicaragua, was jailed for three months by the Sandinistas, he acknowledged on his asylum application that he was jailed for deserting the army. It is well established, however, that punishment for desertion does not constitute persecution. Matter of Virgil, Int.Dec. (BIA 1988).…