Addis Bekele v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: A99-884-636 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998828400].. [11-1429]

Appeal: 11-1429

Document: 41

Date Filed: 04/09/2012

Page: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 11-1429

ADDIS YILMA BEKELE,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney General,
Respondent.

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

Submitted:

March 27, 2012

Decided:

April 9, 2012

Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.

Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Solomon Bekele, LAW OFFICES OF SOLOMON & ASSOCIATES, Washington,
D.C., for Petitioner. Tony West, Assistant Attorney General,
Michael P. Lindemann, Sr., Chief, National Security Unit,
Ethan B. Kanter, Deputy Chief, National Security Unit, Office of
Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Washington, D.C., for Respondent.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Appeal: 11-1429

Document: 41

Date Filed: 04/09/2012

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PER CURIAM:
Addis Yilma Bekele, a native and citizen of Ethiopia,
petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals

(“Board”)

dismissing

his

appeal

from

the

immigration

judge’s order finding that he was statutorily ineligible for
asylum,

withholding

from

removal

and

withholding

under

the

Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), but granting him deferral or
removal under the CAT.

We deny the petition for review.

Administrative findings of fact are conclusive unless
any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to decide to the
contrary.

8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B) (2006).

Legal issues are

reviewed de novo, “affording appropriate deference to the BIA’s
interpretation of the INA and any attendant regulations[.]”
Fang

Lin

v.

Mukasey,

517

F.3d

685,

691-92

(4th

Cir.

Li

2008)

(citation omitted).

This court will reverse the Board only if

“the

.

evidence

.

.

presented

was

so

compelling

that

no

reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite fear of
persecution.”

INS

v.

Elias-Zacarias,

502

U.S.

478,

483-84

(1992); see Rusu v. INS, 296 F.3d 316, 325 n.14 (4th Cir. 2002).
Because the Board affirmed the immigration judge’s order and
supplemented it, both decisions are subject to judicial review.
Niang v. Gonzales, 492 F.3d 505, 511 n.8 (4th Cir. 2007).
Aliens who have engaged in terrorist activities or are
members of a terrorist organization may be statutorily precluded
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Date Filed: 04/09/2012

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from seeking several forms of relief from removal, including
asylum, withholding from removal, and Convention Against Torture
(“CAT”)

protection

in

the

form

of

withholding,

eligible for deferral of removal under the CAT.

but

remain

See Haile v.

Holder, 658 F.3d 1122, 1125-26 (9th Cir. 2011) (citing statutory
and regulatory regimen).
We

conclude

that

substantial

evidence

supports

the

finding that the Oromo Liberation Front (“OLF”) was a terrorist
organization before, during and after Bekele provided material
support.

The

record

does

not

compel

a

finding

that

Bekele

showed by a preponderance of the evidence that the OLF ceased
its terrorist activities for the brief period it was aligned
with the transitional government and while Bekele was a member.
Accordingly, we conclude that the Board’s conclusion
that

Bekele

removal

and

was

not

eligible

withholding

for

under

the

record and was not legal error.
for review.

asylum,
CAT

was

withholding
supported

by

from
the

Therefore, we deny the petition

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

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