Velasquez Yanes v. Ashcroft

MEMORANDUM ***

Nivia Lisseth Velasquez-Yanes, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) summary affirmance, without opinion, of an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum and withholding of deportation. Because the transitional rules apply, Kalaw v. INS, 133 F.3d 1147, 1150 (9th Cir.1997), this Court has jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a). We review claims of due process violations in immigration proceedings de novo, Lopez-Urenda v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 788, 791 (9th Cir.2003), and review adverse credibility determinations for substantial evidence, Gui v. INS, 280 F.3d 1217, 1225 (9th Cir. 2002). We deny the petition for review.

Taking Petitioner’s testimony as true, we hold that substantial evidence supports the IJ’s conclusion that the one vague threat made to Petitioner while she was detained for two hours did not establish past persecution. See Lim v. INS, 224 F.3d 929, 936 (9th Cir.2000) (recognizing that although threats may serve as the basis for a well-founded fear of future persecution, “[tjhreats themselves are sometimes hollow and, while uniformly unpleasant, often do not effect…