Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-04-01226/USCOURTS-ca8-04-01226-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
John Ashcroft
Respondent
Ogechi Mathew Matara
Petitioner

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 04-1226

___________

Ogechi Mathew Matara, *

*

Petitioner, *

* Petition for Review of a 

v. * Decision of the Board of

* Immigration Appeals.

John Ashcroft, Attorney General *

of the United States of America, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Respondent. *

___________

Submitted: December 16, 2004

Filed: January 24, 2005

___________

Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD and RILEY,

Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Ogechi Matara petitions for review of an order without opinion of the Board

of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the denial by an immigration judge (IJ) of

Mr. Matara's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under

Article III of the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Mr. Matara argues that

the IJ abused her discretion by failing to consider all of the evidence that he presented

and by distorting his claim. We affirm the order of the BIA.

Appellate Case: 04-1226 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/24/2005 Entry ID: 1858449 
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Mr. Matara asserts that he is Kenyan and that he would face persecution for his

political opinions if he were to return. The IJ, however, doubted Mr. Matara's

credibility, since Mr. Matara admits to lying to South African authorities about his

country of origin in the course of his journey from Kenya to the United States, lacks

any identification documents to corroborate his Kenyan citizenship, and gave two

conflicting dates on which Kenyan police allegedly arrested and harassed him for his

political activities. With such evidence in the record, we cannot conclude that "no

reasonable factfinder could fail to find" that Mr. Matara had "the requisite fear of

persecution" that qualifies him for the refugee status necessary for asylum. INS v.

Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84 (1992); see 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A);

8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(a). Substantial evidence therefore supports the IJ's denial of

Mr. Matara's application for asylum, and thus that ruling was not an abuse of

discretion. See Hasalla v. Ashcroft, 367 F.3d 799, 803 (8th Cir. 2004).

To succeed on his application for withholding removal, Mr. Matara must show

a clear probability of persecution, which means he must demonstrate that he more

likely than not would face persecution if returned to Kenya. See INS v. Stevic,

467 U.S. 407, 424 (1984); 8 C.F.R. § 208.16(b)(2). The same is required for relief

sought under Article III of the United Nations Convention Against Torture. 8 C.F.R.

§ 208.16(c)(2). Since it is less difficult for Mr. Matara to prove his eligibility for

asylum than to show his entitlement to withholding removal or relief under the

Convention Against Torture, see INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 430-32

(1987), a fortiori substantial evidence supports the IJ's denial of Mr. Matara's

application for withholding removal and relief under the Convention. 

Affirmed.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 04-1226 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/24/2005 Entry ID: 1858449