Case Name: Joseph ALMAZAN SANCHEZ, Petitioner, v. Alberto R. GONZALES, Attorney General, Respondent
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2006-12-08
Citations: 210 F. App'x 606
Docket Number: No. 05-74222
Parties: Joseph ALMAZAN SANCHEZ, Petitioner, v. Alberto R. GONZALES, Attorney General, Respondent.
Judges: Before: GOODWIN, LEAVY, and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 210
Pages: 606–607

Head Matter:
Joseph ALMAZAN SANCHEZ, Petitioner, v. Alberto R. GONZALES, Attorney General, Respondent.
No. 05-74222.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Submitted Dec. 4, 2006 .
Filed Dec. 8, 2006.
Helen B. Zebel, Esq., Law Office of Helen B. Zebel, San Francisco, CA, for Petitioner.
Ronald E. Lefevre, Chief Counsel, Office of the District Counsel Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco, CA, Nathaniel Douglas, U.S. Department of Justice Environmental, Washington, DC, for Respondent.
Before: GOODWIN, LEAVY, and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2).

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Joseph Almazan Sanchez, a native and citizen of the Philippines, petitions for re view of the Board of Immigration Appeals' ("BIA") order summarily affirming the Immigration Judge's ("IJ") decision denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence, Nagoulko v. INS, 333 F.3d 1012, 1015 (9th Cir.2003), and we deny the petition for review.
Substantial evidence supports the IJ's finding that the New People's Army's ("NPA") threats toward Sanchez for his refusal to join their cause were not on account of an imputed political opinion. The record does not compel a finding that the NPA actually believed Sanchez to be a supporter of the government. See Sangha v. INS, 103 F.3d 1482, 1489 (9th Cir.1997) ("To establish an imputed political opinion, the applicant must show that his persecutors actually imputed a political opinion to him.").
Because Sanchez failed to demonstrate that he was eligible for asylum, it follows that he did not satisfy the more stringent standard for withholding of removal. See Mansour v. Ashcroft, 390 F.3d 667, 673 (9th Cir.2004).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.