Toussaint

Toussaint v. Gonzales

Good Law
229 F. App'x 539
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitApril 24, 2007No. 06-70437California247 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Isnold Toussaint, a native and citizen of Haiti, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision that summarily affirmed the ruling of an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denying his application for asylum and withholding of remov *540 al. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 .

Where, as here, the BIA affirms the IJ’s decision without opinion, the IJ’s decision becomes the BIA’s decision. Gormley v. Ashcroft, 364 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir.2004). We review for substantial evidence, see Gu v. Gonzales, 454 F.3d 1014, 1018 (9th Cir.2006), and we deny the petition.

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s denial of asylum because the record as a whole indicates that Toussaint’s attackers were motivated entirely by pecuniary interests, and we therefore conclude that the evidence does not compel the conclusion that Toussaint was persecuted on account of a protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481-84 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). In addition, Toussaint failed to establish that the Haitian government was either unwilling or unable to control his assailants. Castro-Perez v. Gonzales, 409 F.3d 1069, 1071-72 (9th…

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