Kibreab v. Ashcroft ( 2003 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-1415
SENKENESH KIBREAB,
Petitioner,
versus
JOHN ASHCROFT, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals. (A74-639-020)
Submitted: December 15, 2003 Decided: December 29, 2003
Before NIEMEYER and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Socheat Chea, LAW OFFICE OF SOCHEAT CHEA, Atlanta, Georgia, for
Petitioner. Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, Terri J.
Scadron, Assistant Director, Carol Federighi, Office of Immigration
Litigation, Civil Division, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Washington, D.C., for Respondent.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Senkenesh Kibreab, a native and citizen of Ethiopia, seeks
review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board)
affirming, without opinion, the immigration judge’s (IJ’s) denial
of her application for asylum, withholding of deportation, and
relief under the Convention Against Torture. We have reviewed the
administrative record and the IJ’s decision, designated by the
Board as the final agency determination, and find that substantial
evidence supports the IJ’s conclusion that Kibreab failed to
establish the past persecution or well-founded fear of future
persecution necessary to establish eligibility for asylum. 8 U.S.C.
§ 1105a(a)(4) (1994);1 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b) (2003). We have
reviewed the IJ’s credibility determinations and find that they are
supported by specific, cogent reasoning, and therefore are entitled
to substantial deference. See Figeroa v. INS, 886 F.2d 76, 78 (4th
Cir. 1989). Thus, the administrative record supports the IJ’s
conclusion that Kibreab failed to establish her eligibility for
asylum.2
1
We note that 8 U.S.C. § 1105a was repealed by the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
(IIRIRA), Pub. L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-627, effective
April 1, 1997. Because this case was in transition at the time the
IIRIRA was passed, § 1105a(a)(4) is applicable here under the terms
of the transitional rules contained in § 309(c) of the IIRIRA.
2
As Kibreab failed to challenge on appeal the denial of
withholding under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C.
§ 1231(b)(3) (2000), or the Convention Against Torture, 8 C.F.R.
§ 1208.16 (2003), these claims are waived. See Fed. R. App. P.
2
We deny Kibreab’s petition for review. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before the court and argument would not
aid the decisional process.
PETITION DENIED
28(a)(6); Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, 178 F.3d 231, 241 n.6 (4th
Cir. 1999); 11126 Baltimore Blvd., Inc. v. Prince George’s County,
Md., 58 F.3d 988, 993 n.7 (4th Cir. 1995) (en banc).
3