United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 18-3437 ___________________________ Tito Michael Uzodinma lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner v. William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: November 14, 2019 Filed: March 5, 2020 ____________ Before COLLOTON, WOLLMAN, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ____________ BENTON, Circuit Judge. An immigration judge ruled that Tito M. Uzodinma, a Nigerian citizen, merited asylum because he had a well-founded fear of future persecution for his political opinions. The Board of Immigration Appeals reversed, denying asylum. Uzodinma appeals. Having jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, this court denies the petition for review. I. The Department of Homeland Security began removal proceedings against Uzodinma for a student visa violation. He applied for asylum, which the immigration judge initially granted. On appeal, the Board of Immigration Appeals remanded for further explanation and factual support, criticizing the “complete lack of any supporting documentation specific to the respondent.” On remand, the IJ again granted asylum, finding Uzodinma had a well-founded fear of future persecution for his political opinions. He supported the Biafran state, which advocates independence from Nigeria. He also supported the LGBTQ community (although not a member of it). The IJ relied on Uzodinma’s testimony and an affidavit from his mother, finding both credible. The IJ found that Uzodinma had voiced his political opinions on social media. The Department of Homeland Security again appealed. The BIA denied asylum, ordering Uzodinma removed to Nigeria. The BIA adopted the IJ’s credibility findings. The BIA held, however, that Uzodinma did not meet his burden of establishing a well-founded fear of future persecution, because he had not corroborated his claim that he would be harmed in Nigeria. The BIA ruled there was no objective evidence he stated his political opinions to others, and it was reasonable to expect him to provide corroborating evidence. According to the BIA, Uzodinma did not demonstrate he faces a particularized threat of persecution in light of the fairly large population of Biafran supporters and members of his Igbo tribe in Nigeria. This court reviews a BIA decision as a final agency action, reviewing the IJ’s findings or reasoning only to the extent the BIA adopts them. Degbe v. Sessions, 899 F.3d 651, 655 (8th Cir. 2018). Legal determinations are reviewed de novo, but the BIA’s interpretation of a federal statute receives substantial deference unless inconsistent with the statute’s plain language or an unreasonable interpretation of an -2- ambiguous statute. Mansour v. Holder, 739 F.3d 412, 414 (8th Cir. 2014), citing Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842-45 (1984). This court reviews the BIA’s denial of asylum under the deferential substantial evidence standard. Degbe, 899 F.3d at 655. This court does not reweigh the evidence and “will uphold the denial of relief unless the alien demonstrates that the evidence [i]s so compelling that no reasonable fact finder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution.” Osonowo ...
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