UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

JOSE RENE CRUZ-GUEVARA,

Petitioner,

v.

No. 97-2739

U.S. IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION

SERVICE,

Respondent.

On Petition for Review of an Order

of the Board of Immigration Appeals.

(A71-799-698)

Submitted: April 7, 1998

Decided: May 19, 1998

Before ERVIN and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and

PHILLIPS, Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Donald L. Schlemmer, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner. Frank W.

Hunger, Assistant Attorney General, Brenda E. Ellison, Senior Litigation Counsel, Pauline Terrelonge, 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:

Jose Rene Cruz-Guevara petitions for review of an order of the

Board of Immigration Appeals ("the Board") denying his application

for asylum and withholding of deportation but granting voluntary

departure. Because substantial evidence supports the Board's decision, we affirm.

Cruz-Guevara, a native and citizen of Honduras, entered the United

States without inspection in late December 1988 and again in the

summer of 1991. He concedes his deportability. Following a hearing,

an Immigration Judge denied Cruz-Guevara's petition for asylum and

withholding of deportation but granted his application for voluntary

departure. The Board reviewed the claims and dismissed his appeal

concluding that Cruz-Guevara did not demonstrate a well-founded

fear of persecution because of his political opinion and social membership. Cruz-Guevara timely petitions this court for review of the

Board's order.

Cruz-Guevara alleges that in 1988 while living in Honduras, in a

town bordering El Salvador, a rebel group, the Cinchoneros,

attempted twice to recruit him and threatened to kill him or use force

if he refused. He maintained that two members of his party, the

National Party, had been killed for refusing to cooperate with the Cinchoneros. Cruz-Guevara testified that the Cinchoneros forcibly

recruited him once and detained him for a week. Soon after he

escaped, Cruz-Guevara fled to the United States. Although CruzGuevara stayed in the United States for two years, he did not apply

for asylum. Cruz-Guevara maintains that he returned to Honduras in

December 1990, believing that the Cinchoneros forgot about him or

were no longer active. He remained in Honduras for four months

without difficulty. When his father died, however, members of the

Cinchoneros again threatened to kill him if he refused to join them

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and demanded food and money. After convincing the Cinchoneros

that he needed time to mourn his father's death, Cruz-Guevara again

fled to the United States. Cruz-Guevara believes that the Cinchoneros

will kill him if he returns to Honduras having escaped from them

twice.

An alien qualifies for asylum if he is unable or unwilling to return

to the country of his nationality "because of persecution or a wellfounded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality,

membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." 8

U.S.C.A. § 1101(a)(42)(A) (West Supp. 1997). To demonstrate a

"well-founded fear of persecution," an individual must show that a

reasonable person under these circumstances would fear persecution

and that the fear has some basis "in the reality of the circumstances"

validated with "specific, concrete facts." Huaman-Cornelio v. Board

of Immigration Appeals, 979 F.2d 995, 999 (4th Cir. 1992). Petitioner

must also show his fear of persecution stems from one of five categories of persecution listed in the Act. See id. at 999-1000.

We must uphold the board's decision if it is supported by substantial evidence from the record as a whole. See Huaman-Cornelio, 979

F.2d at 999. We reverse the Board only if the evidence "was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite

fear of persecution." INS v. Elias-Zacarias , 502 U.S. 478, 483-84

(1992). We also note that to qualify for withholding of deportation,

an alien must prove a probability of persecution, a more stringent

standard than a well-founded fear of persecution. See HuamanCornelio, 979 F.2d at 1000.

We conclude that substantial evidence supports the Board's finding

that Cruz-Guevara failed to establish past persecution and a wellfounded fear of future persecution. There is no evidence that CruzGuevara was ever seriously physically injured on account of his political beliefs, including the time he was detained for a week. We agree

with the Board's conclusion that the harm Cruz-Guevara suffered

does not rise to the level of past persecution within the meaning of

the Act.

We also find no evidence of a causal connection between the Cinchoneros' zealous recruitment of Cruz-Guevara and Cruz-Guevara's

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political affiliations. In fact, Cruz-Guevara admitted that the Cinchoneros did not single him out on account of his political beliefs, but

rather generally targeted young men. Given the changed conditions in

Honduras since 1991, the Board also correctly concluded that CruzGuevara cannot establish a well-founded fear of future persecution.

Because Cruz-Guevara fails to meet the burden of proof for asylum, he necessarily fails to meet the higher standard for withholding

of deportation under 8 U.S.C.A. § 1253(h) (West Supp. 1997). See

Huaman-Cornelio, 979 F.2d at 1000. We therefore affirm the Board's

ruling denying Cruz-Guevara asylum and withholding of deportation

but granting voluntary departure. 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.

AFFIRMED

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