Tadesse v. Ashcroft , 83 F. App'x 523 ( 2003 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-1227
TIGEST TADESSE,
Petitioner,
versus
JOHN ASHCROFT,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals. (A29-917-630)
Submitted: November 21, 2003 Decided: December 17, 2003
Before NIEMEYER, WILLIAMS, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Douglas P. Wachholz, WACHHOLZ & ASSOCIATES, for Petitioner. Peter
D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, Norah Ascoli Schwarz,
Senior Litigation Counsel, Michelle R. Thresher, Office of
Immigration Litigation, 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:
Tigest Tadesse, a native and citizen of Ethiopia, petitions
for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals
affirming an immigration judge’s ruling and denying relief on her
application for asylum and withholding of removal. We find that
substantial evidence supports the Board’s conclusion that Tadesse
failed to establish past persecution or a well-founded fear of
future persecution as necessary to qualify for relief from
deportation. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(D) (2000); INS v. Elias-
Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 (1992); Huaman-Cornelio v. Bd. of
Immigration Appeals, 979 F.2d 995, 999 (4th Cir. 1992). Tadesse’s
claim of ineffective assistance of counsel claim is pending before
the Board in a motion to reopen and reconsider, and we decline to
address its merits before the Board has disposed of the motion to
reopen. See Stewart v. INS, 181 F.3d 587, 596 (4th Cir. 1999),
Figeroa v. INS; 886 F.2d 76, 77 n.1 (4th Cir. 1989).
Accordingly, we deny the petition for review. We grant
Tadesse’s motion for leave to file an attachment to her reply
brief. 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
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