Nzimba Marques v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Nzimba Isabel Lutando Marques, a native and citizen of Angola, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.G. § 1252(a). We deny Marques’s petition.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s and IJ’s determination that Marques did not establish an objectively reasonable fear of future persecution. Marques did not show that hostility against Mana Church leaders was widespread or directed at Marques. See Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d 1049, 1060 (9th Cir.2009). The IJ properly considered State Department reports on country conditions. See Kamalyan v. Holder, 620 F.3d 1054, 1057 (9th Cir.2010) (noting that country reports “are often the most appropriate and perhaps the best resource for information on political situations in foreign nations” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Where those country reports predated the alleged persecution, the IJ properly provided an opportunity for Marques to supplement the record with additional corroborating evidence. 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (b)(l)(B)(ii). In…