Claudia Tobar-Ascencio v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Claudia Dolores Tobar-Ascencio and her son, natives and citizens of El Salvador, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing their appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying their application for asylum. Our jurisdiction is governed 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings, applying the standards governing adverse credibility determinations created by the REAL ID Act, Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039 (9th Cir.2010), and we deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s adverse credibility determination based on inconsistencies between Tobar-Ascencio’s testimony and her asylum application regarding whether her father had been kidnapped and whether he was deceased. See id. at 1040-44 (adverse credibility determination was reasonable under the REAL ID Act’s “totality of the circumstances”). The agency properly rejected Tobar-Ascencio’s explanations for these inconsistencies. See Rivera v. Mukasey, 508 F.3d 1271, 1275 (9th Cir.2007) (upholding agency finding that explanations were insufficient). In the absence of credible…