Baolin Zhang v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM **

Baolin Zhang, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision, affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) order denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 .

Where the BIA reviews the IJ’s order de novo, this Court reviews the decision of the BIA. See Singh v. Ashcroft, 301 F.3d 1109, 1111 (9th Cir.2002). We review for substantial evidence, see Sagaydak v. Gonzales, 405 F.3d 1035, 1041 (9th Cir.2005), and we deny the petition for review.

Because Zhang protested the actions of a manager of the factory at which he was employed, rather than a deeply rooted scheme of government corruption, we conclude that substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that Zhang failed to demonstrate persecution on account of political opinion. See Grava v. INS, 205 F.3d 1177, 1181 (9th Cir.2000) (“the salient question is whether [petitioner’s] actions were directed toward a governing institution, or only against individuals whose corruption was aberrational”).

Furthermore, we conclude that the BIA’s finding that Zhang failed to bear his burden of proving…