Sargsyan
Sargsyan v. Ashcroft
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Mkrtich Andranik Sargsyan, his wife Karine Badalyan, and their son, natives and citizens of Armenia, petition pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming an immigration judge’s denial of their applications for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence and will reverse only if the evidence compels a contrary conclusion. Ghaly v. INS, 58 F.3d 1425, 1429 (9th Cir.1995). We deny the petition.
' [1] Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that the events the petitioners described do not rise to the level of persecution. See id. at 1431 (explaining that persecution is an extreme concept and a showing of discrimination is insufficient). The isolated events occurring over a period of several years that the petitioners contend were a result of Badalyan’s mixed-ethnicity do not compel a finding of past persecution. See Rostomian v. INS, 210 F.3d 1088, 1089 (9th Cir. 2000); Prasad v. INS, 47 F.3d 336, 339-40 (9th Cir.1995).
Furthermore, although the petitioners have a subjective fear of returning to Armenia, substantial evidence supports the BIA’s…