Gorea

*589 MEMORANDUM **

Liviu Valer-Simion Gorea and Josefina Lucia Gorea, citizens of Romania, appeal the BIA’s denial of their applications for asylum and withholding of deportation.

To be eligible for asylum protection, the Goreas must show that either the husband or wife “is unable or unwilling to return to [Romania] because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” Melkonian v. Ashcroft, 320 F.3d 1061, 1064 (9th Cir.2003) (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A)) (internal quotation marks omitted).

The fact that the Goreas lost specific jobs because of their politics does not compel a finding of persecution, especially because they both found other work. Nagoulko v. INS, 333 F.3d 1012, 1016 (9th Cir.2003) (holding that employment discrimination “is not the type of economic deprivation that rises to the level of persecution”).

Moreover, the fact that the Goreas have established a successful business and that the government has not interfered with that business shows a lack of persecution. See Khourassany v. INS, 208 F.3d 1096, 1101 (9th Cir.2000) (holding that there…