Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-01757/USCOURTS-ca8-03-01757-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
John Ashcroft
Respondent
Ibrahim Traore
Petitioner

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-1757

___________

Ibrahim Traore, *

*

Petitioner, * Petition for Review of an

* Order of the Board of

v. * Immigration Appeals.

* 

John Ashcroft, Attorney General * [UNPUBLISHED]

of the United States, *

*

Respondent. *

___________

Submitted: August 25, 2004

Filed: August 31, 2004

___________

Before MURPHY, FAGG, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Ibrahim Traore petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration

Appeals (BIA), which affirmed an Immigration Judge’s (IJ’s) denial of Traore’s

application for asylum and withholding of removal. After careful review of the

record, we conclude the BIA’s decision on Traore’s asylum application is supported

by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. See Menendez-Donis v. Ashcroft,

360 F.3d 915, 918-19 (8th Cir. 2004) (standard of review). Specifically, the IJ

discredited Traore’s testimony about past persecution he suffered because Traore

failed to raise political persecution in a previous asylum application and his

explanation for failing to do so was unconvincing, and he failed to present

Appellate Case: 03-1757 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/31/2004 Entry ID: 1805294 
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documentary evidence to support his allegations. We defer to the IJ’s credibility

finding because it was supported by specific, cogent reasons for disbelief. See

Nyama v. Ashcroft, 357 F.3d 812, 817 (8th Cir. 2004) (per curiam) (deference

standard). In addition, we find because Traore failed to meet the burden of proof on

his asylum claim, he failed to meet the higher burden for withholding of removal. See

Francois v. INS, 283 F.3d 926, 932-33 (8th Cir. 2002).

Accordingly, we deny Traore’s petition.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 03-1757 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/31/2004 Entry ID: 1805294