Sokha Chao v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Sokha Chao, a native and citizen of Cambodia, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing her appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence, Gormley v. Ashcroft, 864 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir.2004), and we deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding of no past persecution because the incidents of harm Chao suffered personally do not rise to the level of persecution, see Prasad v. INS, 47 F.3d 336, 339-40 (9th Cir.1995), and the harm to her husband was not “closely tied” to Chao, see Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d 1049, 1060 (9th Cir.2009). Because Chao has not established past persecution, she is not entitled to a rebuttable presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution. See Gormley, 364 F.3d at 1180. Further, in light of new political alliances in Cambodia and the lack of evidence of any continued interest in Chao, substantial evidence also supports the BIA’s finding that she did not establish…