Reyes

MEMORANDUM **

Luis Alberto Avila Reyes, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of his appeal from an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we deny the petition for review.

“Where, as here, the BIA reviews the IJ’s decision de novo, our review is limited to the BIA’s decision, except to the extent that the IJ’s opinion is expressly adopted.” Shah v. INS, 220 F.3d 1062, 1067 (9th Cir.2000) (quotation marks and citation omitted). The BIA did not adopt the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, so we review for substantial evidence only the Board’s determination that Avila failed to meet his “burden of proving eligibility for asylum and ... withholding of removal.” See Baballah v. Ashcroft, 367 F.3d 1067, 1073 (9th Cir.2004).

An asylum applicant must prove eligibility with credible, direct, and specific evidence. See Molino-Morales v. INS, 237 F.3d 1048, 1051 (9th Cir.2001). Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that Avila did not meet this…