Khaligh

MEMORANDUM **

Mohammad Reza Khaligh (“Khaligh”), his wife Reihaneh Khaligh, and their three minor children, all natives and citizens of Iran, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) summary affirmance of an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of their applications for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review claims of due process violations de novo, Lopez-Urenda v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 788, 791 (9th Cir.2003), and review the denial of asylum and withholding of removal for substantial evidence, Reyes-Guerrero v. INS, 192 F.3d 1241, 1244 (9th Cir.1999). We deny the petition for review.

Khaligh testified that he fears persecution in retaliation for his opposition to government corruption during his tenure as a government employee in Iran. Taking the Petitioner’s testimony as true, substantial evidence supports the IJ’s conclusion that Petitioner did not establish past persecution. Because the Iranian government’s motives for not renewing Khaligh’s export license and for putting a lien on his home may have been legally legitimate, these acts did not rise to the level of persecution. See Fisher v. INS, 79 F.3d 955,…