UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT 

No. 08-1294

GIRMA GEBRIE GEBRE GIORGIS, 

 Petitioner, 

 v. 

MICHAEL B. MUKASEY, Attorney General, 

 Respondent. 

On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration 

Appeals.

Submitted: November 19, 2008 Decided: January 26, 2009 

Before NIEMEYER, MICHAEL, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges. 

Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion. 

James A. Roberts, LAW OFFICES OF JAMES A. ROBERTS, Fairfax, 

Virginia, for Petitioner. Gregory G. Katsas, Assistant Attorney 

General, M. Jocelyn Lopez Wright, Assistant Director, Mona Maria 

Yousif, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. 
PER CURIAM: 

 Girma Gebrie Gebre Giorgis, a native and citizen of 

Ethiopia, petitions for review of an order of the Board of 

Immigration Appeals dismissing his appeal from the immigration 

judge’s decision, which denied his requests for asylum, 

withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention 

Against Torture. 

 In his petition for review, Giorgis challenges the 

finding that he failed to show that his political opinion was 

“at least one central reason” for the persecution he allegedly 

faced in Ethiopia in 2005. The Immigration and Nationality Act 

authorizes the Attorney General to confer asylum on any refugee. 

8 U.S.C. § 1158(a) (2006). It defines a refugee as a person 

unwilling or unable to return to his 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) (2006) 

(emphasis added). Following the passage of the REAL ID Act, 

asylum applicants such as Giorgis who filed their applications 

after May 11, 2005, must establish that the protected ground 

asserted “was or will be at least one central reason for 

persecuting the applicant.” REAL ID Act, § 101(a)(3), codified 

at 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(i) (2006). Based on our review of 

the record, we agree with the finding that Giorgis failed to 

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establish that his political opinion was a central reason for 

the threats that he faced in 2005. 

 Giorgis also argues that he established that he faces 

a well-founded fear of future persecution if returned to 

Ethiopia based on his political activities here in the United 

States. To obtain reversal of a determination denying 

eligibility for relief, an alien “must show that the evidence he 

presented was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could 

fail to find the requisite fear of persecution.” INS v. EliasZacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84 (1992). We have reviewed the 

evidence of record and conclude that Giorgis fails to show that 

the evidence compels a contrary result. Accordingly, we cannot 

grant the relief that he seeks. 

 We therefore 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