Abubakar Drammeh v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Good Law
483 F. App'x 389
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitOctober 15, 201209-73845California297 words

Opinion

Opinion

Abubakar Drammeh, a native and citizen of Sierra Leone, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence factual findings. Sowe v. Mukasey, 538 F.3d 1281, 1285 (9th Cir.2008). We dismiss in part and deny in part the petition for review.

We lack jurisdiction to review Dram-meh’s contention that he is eligible for humanitarian asylum because he failed to exhaust it before the BIA. See Barron v. Ashcroft, 358 F.3d 674, 678 (9th Cir.2004).

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that, even if Drammeh were credible, and even if he established past persecution, the government rebutted the presumption that Drammeh has a well-founded fear of persecution if he returned to Sierra Leone. See Sowe, 538 F.3d at 1285-87 (evidence of fundamental changes in Sierra Leone rebutted the presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution). Accordingly, Drammeh’s asylum claim fails.

Because Drammeh…

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