NOT RECOMMENDED F OR FUL L -TEXT PUB L I CATI ON File Na me: 12a1249n.06 No. 11-4335 UNI TED STATES COURT OF A PPEAL S FOR THE SI XTH CI RCUI T VI KTOR I VANOV I CH PAL KA; J EVGENI A AL EKSEEVNA POL ENOVA , Petitioners,

v. ERI C H. HOL DER, J R., Attorney Gene ral, Respondent. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ON PETI TI ON F OR REVI EW FROM THE U

NI TED STATES BO ARD OF I MMI GRATI ON APPEAL S

BEF ORE: MARTI

N and B OGGS, Circuit J udg es; COL L I ER, District J udg e. *

PER CURI AM. Viktor I vanovich Palka a nd J evg enia Ale kseevna

Polenova, hus band and wife, pe tition for reviewof an or der by the B oard of I mmigra tion Appea ls dismiss ing the ir appe al of a decision fr o m an immigra tion judge (I J ), who denied their claims for asy lum, withholding of

remova l, and protec tion under the Convention Ag ainst Torture. The pe titioners were born in Estonia when it wa s part of the Soviet Union. However , they

are ethnically Russian. They enter ed the United States in 2008 and applied for the above- mentioned relief

. At a hear ing befor e an I J , the petitioners testified that they have n o t been g rante d full citizenship in Estonia, despite being born there , beca use they have not passed the require d Estonian lang uag e test. They also stated that they cannot rec eive a highe r education in Estonia beca use they

The Honora

ble Curtis L

. Colli er, United States District J udg e for th e E as t er n District of * Tenne ssee, sitting by

desig nation.No. 11-4335

Palka, et al. v. H

older do not speak Estonian. There fore , they are limit ed to unskilled work. Palka claimed to have suffe red past perse cution when he was arr ested at a demonstration wher e ethnic Russians wer e protesting the

remova l of a statue of a Russian Wo rl d W ar I I soldier and ethnic Estonians wer e supporting the

remova l. He state d that police pushed him to the g round and dr ag g ed him two hundred y ards to a van, causing bruising and abra sions on his back. Palka was held wi t h a larg e number of other

arr estee s in a shipping terminal for sever al hours. He was forc ed to kneel on the floor until his name

was called and he was rele ased. Palka stated that he lost his job at a war ehouse the next wee k, but that he wa s n o t told why

. He claimed that he had been able to find only occa sional work in construction afte r that. Palka prese nted medical rec ords showing that he had been trea ted for a back strain six months later, which he claimed wa s relate d to his arre st. Both petitioners’ main source of trouble, howeve r, alleg edly came from three ethnically Russian men who believed that Palka had been rele ased compar atively quickly afte r his ar re s t beca use he informed the police who the org anizers of the demonstration wer e. Petitioners testified that these men came to the ir apar tment a nd called Palka outside, wher e they eng ag ed in a shouting match. A ne ighbor

called the police. Palka t estified that the police de clined to do any thing a bout the matter and that they stated that it would be best if the Russians “just killed each other.” Petitioners claimed that these t h ree men came to their apar tment on other occa sions, threa tening them for being traitors to their fellow ethnic Russians. Petitioners moved into Palka’s mother’s apar tment on the out skirts of Tallinn. Howeve r, the men c ame to this location, threw rocks at the windows, and stuffed burning rag s under the front door. Petitioners testified that the hara ssment by these men w as the main motivation for their de cision to come to the United States. -2-No. 11-4335

Palka, et al. v. H

older The I J found that the petitioners’ testimony was not cre dible and that they had not established past perse cution or a well-founde d fea r of future persec ution. All claims for relief were there fore denied. The Boa

rd dismiss ed their appea l. The petitioners arg ue befor e us that the I J er red in finding that their testimony was not c redible and in f inding that they did not suffer pe rsec ution for their Russian ethnicity , particula rly economic pe rsec ution. We revie w an I J ’s cre dibilit y finding to deter mine whether it is supported by substantial evidenc e. See Sylla v. INS , 388 F.3d 924, 925 (6th Cir. 2004). The I J ’s adver se-c redibility finding is supported by the rec ord. Palka testified that he was pushed to the g round by the police. Howeve r, in his written statement in support of his asy lum application, h e claimed to have been clubbed. Statements from his mother and brother wer e also inconsistent on this issue. Palka’s mother stated that Palka was mistreated afte r his arr est. His brother stated that Palka was brutally beate n and his back wa s broken. Additionally , his brother claimed that the t hree Russian men had beate n Palka, wh i l e P alka testified only to threa ts. Palka claimed to have been able to find only sporadic construction work, but Polenova testified that he had to take off work to visit the doctor six months later. Palka also claimed, without support, that his diag nosis of lumbar strain was re l at ed to his

arr est and not to his work as a war ehousema n and construction labore r. Thus, there wer e sufficie nt inconsistencies and g aps in the evidenc e to support the I J ’s conclusion that the petitioners wer e not

cre dible. Moreove r, the I J also found that the petitioners had failed to establish past perse cution. To the extent Palka relied on his arr est as past perse cution, the I J corr ectly noted that forc e used ag ainst

a crow d of demonstrators on both sides of an issue does not demonstrate that Palka was specific ally -3-No. 11-4335

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older targ eted for abuse based on a protec ted g round. See Gilaj v. Gonzales , 408 F.3d 275, 285 (6th Cir. 2005). To the extent th at t h e petitioners relied on their claim of economic perse cution, Palka’s unexplained loss of his job, inability to attend Estonian universities, and the difficulty in advanc ing to high levels of employ

ment does not constitute perse cution. See Japarkulov a v. Holder , 615 F.3d 696, 700 (6th Cir. 2010). Moreove r, i t appea rs t hat P alka’ s mother and brother were all g ainfully employ ed. See Pascual v. Mukase y , 514 F.3d 483, 489 (6 t h C i r. 2 007) (holding that family

rema ining in country unperse cuted undercuts claim). The recor d also sh o ws that near ly one-third of the Estonian population is Russian speaking , an d t h at t h ere are are as outside the capital wher e Russian speake rs are the majority

. Finally , to the extent that the petitioners claimed perse cution by the three Russian men, they did not show that the Estonian g overnme nt was unwilling or unable to control these men. See Bonilla-Morales v. Holder , 607 F.3d 1132, 1136 (6th Cir. 2010). Although

a neig hbor called the police due to noise when the men first came to the apar tment of Palka’s mother and the police did not file a repor t, Palka never spoke to those policemen and never called the police ag ain, eve n when the me n threw r ocks at the a partment windows a

nd tried to set the door on f ire. For the same rea sons, the I J did not err in c oncluding that the petitioners failed to e stablish

a well-founde d fea

r of future perse cution. See Ali v. Ashcroft , 366 F.3d 407, 410-11 (6th Cir. 2004). Be cause the petitioners failed to me et the standard of elig ibilit y for asy lum, they nece ssarily failed to me et the hig her standa rd for withholding of r emoval. See Kaba v . Mukase y , 546 F.3d 741, 751 (6th Cir. 2008). They also failed to establish that it is more likely than not that they will be tortured if they return to Estonia. Thus, they ar e n o t en t i tled to protec tion under the Convention Ag ainst Torture

. See P ilica v. Ashcroft , 388 F.3d 941, 951 ( 6th Cir. 2004). -4-No. 11-4335

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older The pe tition for reviewis denied.

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