Rivera
Rivera v. Gonzales
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Petitioners seek review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of their application for asylum. An alien seeking asylum must establish that he is a “refugee”: an alien unwilling to return to his country of origin because of 1) past persecution or 2) a well-founded fear of future persecution “on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A). “Persecution is an extreme concept.” See Fisher v. I.N.S., 79 F.3d 955 , 961 (9th Cir.1996).
We only disturb a Board decision where the evidence “compels” reversal. See I.N.S. v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478 , 481 n. 1, 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (emphasis in original). Neither brief detention without physical harm, see Prasad v. I.N.S., 47 F.3d 336, 339 (9th Cir.1995), nor mere threats, see Canales-Vargas v. Gonzales, 441 F.3d 739, 744 (9th Cir.2006), compel a finding of persecution. The Board properly relied on Rios v. Ashcroft, 287 F.3d 895 (9th Cir.2002), and Agbuya v. I.N.S., 241 F.3d 1224 (9th Cir.2001), in finding no past persecution.