Velandia Quinones v. Holder
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Leonardo Fabio Velandia Quinones and Claudia Ximena Beltran Vera, natives and citizens of Columbia, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming the immigration judge’s order denying their application for asylum and withholding of removal. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review de novo questions of law, Cerezo v. Mukasey, 512 F.3d 1163, 1166 (9th Cir.2008), except to the extent that deference is owed to the BIA’s determination of the governing statutes and regulations, Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 535 (9th Cir.2004). We review factual findings for substantial evidence. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006). We deny the petition for review.
We reject respondent’s renewed request to strike petitioners’ brief.
Quinones had several encounters with guerrillas in which they attempted to recruit him to provide information about building projects, contracts, and other government operations. Quinones contends the harm he suffered from the guerrillas was on account of his political opinion and his membership in a particular social group.