Opinion ID: 170857
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Chinese Appearance

Text: Paomey first attempts to establish that he has been subjected to past persecution while living in Indonesia due to his Chinese appearance. In this regard, Paomey solely relies on incidents in which he had stones thrown at him while driving and encountered difficulties in obtaining an identification card. According to the IJ, this “past history in Indonesia would indicate that [Paomey’s] suffering on account of his alleged Chinese looks would not rise to the level of past persecution or future persecution.” We agree. “Although persecution is not defined in the INA, we have held that a finding of persecution requires the infliction of suffering or harm upon those who differ (in race, religion, or political opinion) in a way regarded as offensive and must entail more than just restrictions or threats to life and liberty.” Wiransane v. Ashcroft, 366 F.3d 889, 893 (10th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation omitted). Compare Tulengkey, 425 F.3d at 1281 (finding no past persecution where alien was robbed, fondled, and suffered a minor head injury); Kapcia v. INS, 944 F.2d 702, 704-05, 708 (10th Cir. 1991) (holding no past persecution where alien had twice been detained for two-day periods during which he was beaten and interrogated, whose parents’ home had been searched, whose work locker had been repeatedly broken into, and who had been assigned poor work tasks, denied bonuses, and conscripted into the army, where he was constantly harassed); and Lie v. Ashcroft, 396 F.3d 530, 536 (3d Cir. 2005) (“[T]wo -8- isolated criminal acts, perpetrated by unknown assailants, which resulted only in the theft of some personal property and a minor injury, is not sufficiently severe to be considered persecution.”); with Nazaraghaie v. INS, 102 F.3d 460, 463-64 (10th Cir.1996) (suggesting that asylum applicant’s severe beating and ten month imprisonment on account of his political opinion constituted persecution). Sidabutar v. Gonzales, 503 F.3d 1116, 1124 (10th Cir. 2007). In the instant case, there are no allegations of imprisonment or severe beatings. Instead, Paomey’s allegations amount to harassment. While the court is sympathetic with Paomey’s claims and does not condone the harassment Paomey experienced, such harassment does not rise to the level of persecution. In the absence of any past persecution based on his Chinese appearance, Paomey is not entitled to a presumption of future persecution. 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(b)(2). Instead, Paomey must affirmatively show a clear probability of future persecution by demonstrating either that he would be singled out personally for persecution, or that he has “a reasonable fear of persecution because of [his] membership in a group subject to ‘a pattern or practice of persecution.’” Woldemeskel, 257 F.3d at 1190. Paomey has failed to make any showing on either of these grounds, and therefore, has failed to establish a clear probability of future persecution in Indonesia based on his Chinese appearance.