Longru Wei v. Jefferson Sessions, III

Case: 16-60744 Document: 00514245038 Page: 1 Date Filed: 11/21/2017
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 16-60744 FILED
Summary Calendar November 21, 2017
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
LONGRU WEI; YIBIAO LIAO,
Petitioners
v.
JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS, III, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent
Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
BIA No. A201 260 360
Before BENAVIDES, CLEMENT, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Longru Wei and Yibiao Liao, natives and citizens of China, petition this
court for review of the decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
dismissing their appeal from the immigration judge’s (IJ) order denying their
asylum application. Wei contends that she was persecuted in China when
family planning officials forced her to have three abortions and that she would
be involuntarily sterilized if she were to return to China with her second child,
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 16-60744 Document: 00514245038 Page: 2 Date Filed: 11/21/2017
No. 16-60744
who was born while she was in the United States. Wei’s son, Yibiao, seeks
asylum as a derivative applicant.
Because the BIA agreed with the IJ’s denial of relief, we will review both
decisions. See Wang v. Holder, 569 F.3d 531, 536 (5th Cir. 2009). We review
factual findings under the substantial evidence standard, and legal questions
de novo. Orellana-Monson v. Holder, 685 F.3d 511, 517-18 (5th Cir. 2012).
An alien seeking asylum must demonstrate past persecution or a well-
founded fear of persecution because of one of five protected grounds including
political opinion. 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(A), (B)(i). A forced abortion or an
involuntary sterilization qualifies as persecution on account of political opinion
under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). In this case, the IJ’s and BIA’s denial of Wei’s
claim for asylum is supported by substantial evidence. The IJ and BIA
provided numerous specific, cogent reasons in support of the IJ’s adverse
credibility decision against Wei. See Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 344 (5th
Cir. 2005). The evidence does not compel a conclusion that Wei demonstrated
past persecution through her claim of having three abortions while in China or
that she demonstrated a well-founded fear of persecution based on her alleged
fear of involuntary sterilization or economic penalties if she were to return to
China with her two children. See Zhu v. Gonzales, 493 F.3d 588, 597-98 (5th
Cir. 2007); Zhao v. Gonzales, 404 F.3d 295, 306 (5th Cir. 2005).
The petition for review is DENIED.
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