De Morales v. Ashcroft

MEMORANDUM **

Gloria Veraly Gonzalez de Morales (“Morales”), a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration’s (“BIA”) per curiam order adopting and affirming the decision of the Immigration Judge (“U”) denying her application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review a determination that an applicant has not established eligibility for asylum for substantial evidence, and where, as here, “the BIA adopts the IJ’s decision while adding its own reasons, we review both decisions.” Kataria v. INS, 232 F.3d 1107, 1112 (9th Cir.2000).

Because the IJ did not make an explicit adverse credibility determination, we assume that Morales’ testimony was credible. See Kataria, 232 F.3d at 1113-14 . However, Morales’ testimony that Guatemalan guerrillas mistreated her in order to obtain food, money, and to recruit her to their ranks, does not compel a finding that she is eligible for asylum. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (stating that a petitioner must provide “some evidence” of her persecutors’ motives that would compel a reasonable fact-finder…