Kedei

MEMORANDUM *

Married petitioners Demesi Kedei (“Kedei”) and Lite Rokosipo Kedei are natives and citizens of Fiji who seek asylum and withholding of removal. Immigration Judge (“IJ”) Dana Marks Keener denied relief, and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed without opinion. We review the IJ’s decision directly as it is the final agency determination, Falcon Carriche v. Ashcroft, 350 F.3d 845, 849 (9th Cir.2003), and we deny the petition for review.

Kedei is the lead petitioner and was the only witness at the petitioners’ asylum *130 hearing. He testified that his mother is a Solomon Islander, and that he was persecuted in Fiji by members of his own family because of his mixed ethnic background. The IJ denied relief after finding Kedei not to be credible. We deny the petition for review because the IJ’s adverse credibility finding is supported by substantial evidence. See Wang v. INS, 352 F.3d 1250, 1253 (9th Cir.2003).

Kedei checked “No” on his asylum application when asked if he had been mistreated by a group the Fijian government was unable or unwilling to control, and, as bases for his asylum claim, he cited only the May 2000 coup, poor economic conditions, and his…