Manivong v. District Director, U.S. Dept. of Justice I.N.S., 98-2375
| Decision Date | 08 January 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-2375,98-2375 |
| Citation | 164 F.3d 432 |
| Parties | Akatsavanh MANIVONG, Petitioner, v. DISTRICT DIRECTOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Joseph Lopez Wilson, Omaha, NE, for Appellant.
Holly A. Gimbel, Washington, DC, for Appellee.
Before McMILLIAN, RICHARD S. ARNOLD, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.
Akatsavanh Manivong, a citizen of Laos, entered the United States in 1991 on a non-immigrant visa. In 1995, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) ordered Manivong to show cause why he should not be deported. Following a hearing, an Immigration Judge found deportability had been established, denied Manivong's application for asylum and withholding of deportation, and gave him the option to depart voluntarily. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissed his appeal from the Judge's order, and Manivong now petitions for review. He does not contest that he is deportable, but he maintains that he was subject to past persecution and has a well-founded fear of future persecution based on his and his family's political opinions. Reviewing the BIA's denial of asylum for an abuse of discretion, and the factual findings underlying its refusal to grant asylum under the substantial-evidence standard, see Feleke v. INS, 118 F.3d 594, 597-98 (8th Cir.1997), we deny Manivong's petition. 1
The Attorney General has discretion to grant asylum to a "refugee." See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1). A refugee is an alien who is unwilling to return to his or her home country because of "persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A).
There is evidence that Manivong was at one time the victim of persecution. For most of 1981, petitioner spent his days in a labor camp, he says because of anti-Communist opinions. But a reasonable fact finder could find Manivong's fear of future persecution was not objectively reasonable. See Ghasemimehr v. INS, 7 F.3d 1389, 1390-91 (8th Cir.1993) (per curiam) (); Feleke, 118 F.3d at 598 (); Safaie v. INS, 25 F.3d 636, 640-41 (8th Cir.1994). After leaving the labor camp, petitioner received a degree from a government university, worked for the City of Vientiane, obtained a visa, and had his Laotian passport renewed. His father and children have been living in Laos without incident.
Because substantial evidence supports the denial of asylum, we also affirm the BIA's denial of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Jalloh v. Gonzales
... ... Department of Justice ... Before RILEY, BRIGHT, and ... Bae v. INS, 706 F.2d 866, 869 (8th Cir.1983); see Strato v ... district of Sierra Leone, and is a member of the Fula2 ... Manivong v. Dist. Dir., U.S. Dep't of Justice INS, 164 ... ...
-
Tawm v. Ashcroft
... ... Blair T. O'Connor, Dept". of Justice, Washington, D.C., for appellee ... \xC2" ... He remained in the United States, and the INS initiated removal proceedings against him on ... Cf. Manivong v. District Director, INS, 164 F.3d 432, 433 (8th ... Our review of the record leads us to agree with the IJ that Al Tawm has not ... ...
-
Shoaira v. Ashcroft
... ... Earle B. Wilson, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, ... INS) began deportation proceedings against both ... Manivong v. Dist. Dir., U.S. Dep't of Justice INS, 164 ... the petitioners, this evidence does not compel us to overturn the IJ's determination that their ... ...
-
Diop v. Holder, 08-3378.
... ... INS, 118 F.3d 594, 598 (8th Cir.1997). "Subjectively, ... Manivong v. Dist. Dir., U.S. Dep't of Justice INS, 164 ... ...