Opinion ID: 794477
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The IJ's Decision To Deny Asylum and Withholding of Removal Under the INA

Text: 5 When the BIA affirms an IJ's decision without opinion pursuant to the streamlining provision codified at 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(e)(4), we review the IJ's decision as the final agency determination. See, e.g., Yu Sheng Zhang v. DOJ, 362 F.3d 155, 158-59 (2d Cir.2004). We first address Kambolli's challenge to the IJ's denial of his application for asylum. Under the INA, the Attorney General may grant asylum to persons meeting the definition of refugee. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b) (providing discretion to Attorney General); Id. § 1101(a)(42) (defining refugee). We review an IJ's factual findings for substantial evidence. See, e.g., Majidi v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 77, 81 (2d Cir. 2005); see also 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B) ([A]dministrative findings of fact are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary[.]). 6 Kambolli based his request for asylum on the following allegations, which are drawn from his application and his testimony before the IJ. After the fall of Albania's communist government in 1991, Kambolli joined the Democratic Party, which contended with the Socialist Party for political supremacy in the country. Active in Democratic Party politics, Kambolli became a local party leader and eventually ran in his village for an office that he describes as being equivalent to an American mayoralty. He defeated the incumbent Socialist Party mayor, but the incumbent refused to surrender the office on the ground that he did not accept the results of the election. As required by Albanian law, Kambolli appealed to the region's governor, a Socialist Party official who summarily rejected the appeal. Because of local corruption, Kambolli allegedly knew that recourse to the courts would be futile. 7 Thereafter, Kambolli returned home and there was threatened by four policemen who came to his house. The officers, one of whom Kambolli recognized as a local Socialist, told him to abandon his quest for office or leave Albania; otherwise, Kambolli was informed, the police would damage him or his family. Kambolli then moved with his family to another Albanian city, where he stayed a few months, until coming to the United States and overstaying his visa. 2 8 In support of his claim that he suffered persecution, Kambolli alleged also that (1) his house was vandalized by Socialist Party operatives; (2) Democratic Party members are often harassed and occasionally killed on account of their political activity; and (3) he is a sufficiently well-known party leader that he would be attacked if he returned to Albania. In addition to the relevant testimony and newspaper articles recounting conditions in Albania, the State Department Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Report was introduced into the record before the IJ. 9 The IJ found that the mistreatment Kambolli allegedly suffered, while unfortunate, did not rise to persecution because there was no evidence in the record that [he] was at all harmed in Albania for any reason. Largely because Kambolli and his family were left alone after moving elsewhere in Albania, the IJ determined that Kambolli had no well-founded fear of future persecution, stating that there's simply not enough evidence to show that he'd be singled out if he had to return to Albania. Accordingly, the IJ rejected Kambolli's asylum claim and also denied his request for withholding of removal under the INA. 3 Reviewing the IJ's legal conclusions de novo, we hold that the IJ correctly denied Kambolli's asylum claim— based on a finding that the facts testified to by Kambolli did not constitute persecution and that Kambolli did not demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution— in light of the following facts established in the record: (1) there was a lack of physical harm to Kambolli; (2) Kambolli successfully evaded trouble by relocating within Albania; and (3) Kambolli's only direct run-in with authorities consisted of a single threatening meeting with local police. 4 See, e.g., Fatin v. INS, 12 F.3d 1233, 1240 (3d Cir.1993) (Alito, J.) ([P]ersecution does not encompass all treatment that our society regards as unfair, unjust, or even unlawful or unconstitutional.). 10 Because Kambolli did not demonstrate his eligibility for asylum, the IJ did not err in determining that Kambolli failed to meet his burden to establish entitlement to withholding of removal under the INA. See Abankwah, 185 F.3d at 22.