UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

AMINATA KAMARA WRIGHT,

Petitioner,

v.

No. 96-2123

U.S. IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION

SERVICE,

Respondent.

On Petition for Review of an Order

of the Board of Immigration Appeals.

(No. A72-393-859)

Submitted: February 11, 1997

Decided: September 16, 1997

Before NIEMEYER and WILKINS, Circuit Judges, and

BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________

Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Germaine Wright Sobral, GUTJAHR & MONTAGUT, Falls Church,

Virginia, for Petitioner. Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General, Charles E. Pazar, Senior Litigation Counsel, Linda S. Wernery,

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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Aminata K. Wright petitions for review of a final order of the

Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) denying her application for

asylum and withholding of deportation. Because substantial evidence

supports the Board's decision, we deny the petition.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) authorizes the Attorney

General, in her discretion, to confer asylum on any"refugee." 8

U.S.C. § 1158(a) (1994). The Act defines a"refugee" as a person

unwilling or unable to return to her native country"because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political

opinion." 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A) (1994); see M.A. v. INS, 899

F.2d 304, 307 (4th Cir. 1990) (in banc).

The "well-founded fear of persecution" standard contains both a

subjective and an objective component. An applicant may satisfy the

subjective element by presenting "`candid, credible, and sincere testimony' demonstrating a genuine fear of persecution." BerroteranMelendez v. INS, 955 F.2d 1251, 1256 (9th Cir. 1992); see Figeroa

v. INS, 886 F.2d 76, 79 (4th Cir. 1989). The objective element

requires a showing of specific, concrete facts that would lead a reasonable person in like circumstances to fear persecution. HuamanCornelio v. Board of Immigration Appeals, 979 F.2d 995, 999 (4th

Cir. 1992).

We must uphold the Board's determination that Wright is not eligible for asylum if the determination is "supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole."

8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4) (1994). We accord the Board all possible deference. Huaman-Cornelio, 979 F.2d at 999. The decision may be "reversed only if the evidence presented by [Wright] was such that a

reasonable factfinder would have to conclude that the requisite fear

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of persecution existed." See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481

(1992).

Wright, who overstayed a tourist visa in the United States in the

fall of 1991, contends that the Board erred in finding that she had no

well-founded fear of persecution. After a careful review of the administrative record, we find that the evidence simply does not compel the

conclusion that a reasonable person in Wright's circumstances would

fear persecution if she returned to Sierra Leone. Huaman-Cornelio,

979 F.2d at 999.

Evidence established that Wright, a native and citizen of Sierra

Leone, was an active member of the All People's Congress (APC) for

twenty-one years. In April 1992, the APC-controlled government was

overthrown by a military group which took over the government.

While APC members, including Wright's brother-in-law, were singled out for mistreatment in the year following the coup, there is no

evidence that APC members have been subject to persecution since

that time.

Wright maintains that her fear is objectively reasonable because

officials searched her home in Sierra Leone in April 1993, confiscated

her APC membership materials, and detained her mother for two

days. While we do not discount the seriousness of these events, the

record adequately supports the Board's finding that conditions have

changed in Sierra Leone and that APC members have not been singled out for mistreatment in recent years.

The standard for withholding of deportation is more stringent than

that for granting asylum. INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca , 480 U.S. 421, 431-

32 (1987). To qualify for withholding of deportation, an applicant

must demonstrate a "clear probability of persecution." Id. at 430. As

Wright has not established entitlement to asylum, she cannot meet the

higher standard for withholding of deportation.

We accordingly deny the 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

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