UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 08-1868
ABRAHAM BERHANU TADDESSE,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals.
Submitted: October 2, 2009 Decided: October 9, 2009
Before GREGORY and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Petition dismissed in part and denied in part by unpublished per
curiam opinion.
Alan M. Parra, LAW OFFICES OF ALAN M. PARRA, Silver Spring,
Maryland, for Petitioner. Michael F. Hertz, Acting Assistant
Attorney General, James E. Grimes, Senior Litigation Counsel,
Gregory M. Kelch, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Washington, D.C., for Respondent.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Abraham Berhanu Taddesse, a native and citizen of
Ethiopia, petitions for review of an order of the Board of
Immigration Appeals adopting and affirming the Immigration
Judge’s denial of his applications for relief from removal.
Taddesse first challenges the finding below that he
failed to prove that his asylum application was timely filed,
and that no exceptions applied to excuse the untimeliness. We
do not have jurisdiction to review this determination. See 8
U.S.C. § 1158(a)(3) (2006); Gomis v. Holder, 571 F.3d 353,
358-59 (4th Cir. 2009). We therefore dismiss the petition for
review in part with respect to this claim.
Next, Taddesse disputes the finding that he failed to
establish eligibility for asylum. To obtain reversal of a
determination denying eligibility for relief, an alien “must
show that the evidence he 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). We have reviewed the evidence of record and conclude
that Taddesse fails to show that the evidence compels a contrary
result. Having failed to qualify for asylum, Taddesse cannot
meet the more stringent standard for withholding of removal.
Chen v. INS, 195 F.3d 198, 205 (4th Cir. 1999); INS v.
Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 430 (1987). Finally, we uphold
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the finding below that Taddesse failed to demonstrate that it is
more likely than not that he would be tortured if removed to
Ethiopia. 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c)(2) (2009).
Accordingly, we dismiss in part and deny in part the
petition for review. 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 DISMISSED IN PART
AND DENIED IN PART
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