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10-70636•Rigoberto Munoz-Rivas v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General
10-70636Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitAug 23, 2012
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent*
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision**
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
RIGOBERTO MUNOZ-RIVAS,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
No. 10-70636
Agency No. A070-190-554
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted August 8, 2012**
Before: ALARCÓN, BERZON, and IKUTA, Circuit Judges.
Rigoberto Munoz-Rivas, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for
review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal
from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum,
withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture
FILED
AUG 23 2012
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C OU R T OF APPE ALS
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10-70636 2
(“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial
evidence the agency’s factual findings, including the adverse credibility
determinations. Chebchoub v. INS, 257 F.3d 1038, 1042 (9th Cir. 2001). We deny
the petition for review.
Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s adverse credibility determination
based on a discrepancy between Munoz-Rivas’s testimony and documentary
evidence regarding the year of his assault and whether it occurred while he was in
the military or after he completed his military service. See Goel v. Gonzales, 490
F.3d 735, 739 (9th Cir. 2007) (inconsistencies between testimony and documentary
evidence regarding petitioner’s beating and injury went to the heart of the claim
and supported the adverse credibility determination). Accordingly, in the absence
of credible testimony, Munoz-Rivas’s asylum and withholding of removal claims
fail. See Farah v. Ashcroft, 348 F.3d 1153, 1156 (9th Cir. 2003).
Because Munoz-Rivas’s CAT claim is based on the same testimony the
agency found not credible, and the record does not compel the conclusion that it is
more likely than not he will be tortured if returned to Guatemala, his CAT claim
also fails. See id. at 1156-57.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
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