Alvarado-Gomez

MEMORANDUM **

Jaime Amoldo Alvarado-Gomez, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an Immigration Judge’s denial of his application for asylum and withholding of deportation. Because the transitional rules of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IIRIRA”) apply, Kalaw v. INS, 133 F.3d 1147, 1149-50 (9th Cir.1997), we have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a). We deny the petition for review.

We review for substantial evidence the BIA’s determination that Alvarado-Gomez has not established eligibility for asylum, and must uphold the BIA’s decision unless the evidence compels a contrary result. Cruz-Navarro v. INS, 232 F.3d 1024, 1028 (9th Cir.2000).

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that any past persecution Alvarado-Gomez experienced was due solely to his employment in the Civil Patrol, which is not a basis for asylum. Cruz-Navarro, 232 F.3d at 1029 (“Persecution occurring because a person is a current member of a police force or military ... is not on account of one of the grounds enumerated in the Act.”) (quotations omitted);…