Kian Hwa Kwee v. Mukasey

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Kian Hwa Kwee, a citizen of Indonesia of Chinese descent, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeal’s (BIA) final order of removal and denial of eligibility for withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(1), and deny the petition for review.

Because the BIA expressly adopted and affirmed the immigration judge’s (IJ) entire decision, we review the IJ’s decision as if it were that of the BIA. Abebe v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir.2005) (en banc). The IJ’s determinations that a petitioner is not eligible for withholding of removal is reviewed under the substantial evidence standard, and reversal is proper only if the evidence compels a contrary result. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992); Singh v. INS, 134 F.3d 962, 966 (9th Cir.1998). Adverse credibility findings are also reviewed for substantial evidence, though a credibility determination must be supported by “specific and cogent” reasons, and any noted inconsistencies in the petitioner’s testimony must “go to the heart of the asylum claim.” Kaur v. Ashcroft, 379 F.3d 876, 884 (9th Cir.2004) (citation…