Mesfin

MEMORANDUM ***

1. Selemon Mesfin, a native and citizen of Ethiopia, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (“BIA”) decision dismissing his appeal from the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 .

1. We review factual determinations, including whether a petitioner is eligible for asylum, under the substantial evidence standard. Acewicz v. INS, 984 F.2d 1056, 1061 (9th Cir.1993). We must uphold the BIA’s decision unless the evidence compels a contrary result. Singh-Kaur v. INS, 183 F.3d 1147, 1149-50 (9th Cir.1999). To the extent the BIA adopts the IJ’s decision, the IJ’s decision is treated as that of the BIA. Cordon-Garcia v. INS, 204 F.3d 985, 990 (9th Cir.2000).

The record does not compel the conclusion that Mesfin was persecuted or has a well-founded fear of persecution based on a protected ground. See Sangha v. INS, 103 F.3d 1482, 1486-87 (9th Cir.1997); Gu v. Gonzales, 454 F.3d 1014, 1020 (9th Cir.2006). Mesfin, along with thousands of other students, was detained by Ethiopian government authorities after violent student demonstrations broke out causing…