IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 10-60352

Summary Calendar

JAIME VILLANUEVA,

Petitioner

v.

ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,

Respondent

Petition for Review of an Order of the

Board of Immigration Appeals

BIA No. A079 467 661

Before KING, BENAVIDES, and ELROD, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

*

Jaime Villanueva, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review

of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) adopting and affirming

the decision of the immigration judge (IJ) denying Villanueva’s application for

withholding of removal. The BIA dismissed the appeal. Villanueva argues that

the immigration court erred in finding that he had not suffered any past

persecution, that he could relocate to avoid persecution, and that he was not

credible.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

F I L E D

February 21, 2011

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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.

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No. 10-60352

To be eligible for withholding of removal, an applicant must establish that

there is a clear probability that he will be persecuted for his race, religion,

nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion upon

returning to his home country. Roy v. Ashcroft, 389 F.3d 132, 138 (5th Cir.

2004). We review the factual findings of the immigration court for substantial

evidence, and we review legal questions de novo. Zhu v. Gonzales, 493 F.3d 588,

594 (5th Cir. 2007). Because the BIA adopted the IJ’s findings, the IJ’s findings

are subject to our review. Efe v. Ashcroft, 293 F.3d 899, 903 (5th Cir. 2002). This

court will defer “to an IJ’s credibility determination unless, from the totality of

the circumstances, it is plain that no reasonable fact-finder could make such an

adverse credibility ruling.” Wang v. Holder, 569 F.3d 531, 538 (5th Cir. 2009)

(internal quotation and citation omitted).

The IJ’s determination that Villanueva was not credible due to the

inconsistencies between his application for withholding of removal and his

testimony at the immigration hearing is supported by the totality of the

circumstances. Villanueva’s written application states that a “gang” or “paid

assassins” hired by his uncle murdered his father and that it was the gang that

had threatened Villanueva. However, at the hearing, Villanueva insisted that

it was his uncles who had shot and killed his father and who had threatened

Villanueva and his family. The IJ rejected Villanueva’s contention that there is

no inconsistency between these statements because his uncles paid assassins to

be present in case they were unable to kill his father. Villanueva has not

demonstrated that no reasonable factfinder could make such an adverse

credibility determination. See Wang, 569 F.3d at 538.

Villanueva does not address the IJ’s determination that there were

inconsistencies between his written application and his testimony because his

application mentioned only one uncle, but his testimony attributed the blame to

four uncles, and his application indicated that his uncle felt no remorse for the

killing, but his testimony indicated that the uncles had paid assassins to be

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No. 10-60352

present in case they could not commit the killing themselves. He also has not

addressed the fact that he did not provide any evidence to corroborate his claim.

Because the IJ’s adverse credibility determination regarding Villanueva’s claim

is supported by substantial evidence, Villanueva has not properly supported his

application for withholding of removal. See Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339,

345 (5th Cir. 2005); Roy, 389 F.3d at 138. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to

address his remaining claims.

PETITION DENIED.

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Case: 10-60352 Document: 00511388471 Page: 3 Date Filed: 02/21/2011