Alvarez Suns v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM **

Luis Eduardo Alvarez Suns and his wife, Marisol Camelo Lasso, natives and citizens of Colombia, petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of their application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . Reviewing for substantial evidence, Gu v. Gonzales, 454 F.3d 1014, 1018 (9th Cir.2006), we deny the petition.

Substantial evidence supports the determination that Alvarez Suns failed to present sufficient evidence to establish past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). Alvarez Suns’s reliance on prior verbal threats as evidence of past persecution is unavailing. See Lim v. INS, 224 F.3d 929, 936 (9th Cir.2000) (holding that threats standing alone generally do not constitute past persecution). Additionally, substantial evidence supports the determination that Alvarez Suns’ fear of future persecution based on his prior employment with the company Datacentrum…