Avila
Avila v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Erika Isabel Avila, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeal’s (“BIA”) dismissal of her appeal from an Immigration Judge’s denial of her applications for asylum and withholding of deportation. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a). We review for substantial evidence the BIA’s determination that Avila is not eligible for asylum. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). We deny the petition.
Based on Avila’s testimony and asylum application, substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that the guerillas approached her because of her secretarial and accounting skills, rather than because of any political opinion, actual or imputed. See Rivera-Moreno v. INS, 213 F.3d 481, 486-87 (9th Cir.2000). Accordingly, substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that Avila did not show a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a prohibited ground. See Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 ; see also Lim v. INS, 224 F.3d 929, 936 (9th Cir.2000) (stating that “[tjhreats alone, without more, do not demonstrate past…