Hoxha v. Gonzales

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
December 12, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-61122
Summary Calendar
KLODIAN HOXHA,
Petitioner,
versus
ALBERTO R. GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent.
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Petition for Review of a Decision of
the Board of Immigration Appeals
BIA No. A96 029 325
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Before REAVLEY, BARKSDALE and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Albanian citizen Klodian Hoxha petitions for review of the
decision of the Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying his
application for asylum and withholding of removal. Hoxha’s
petition is denied.
Substantial evidence supports the determination of the
Immigration Judge (IJ) that Hoxha has no well-founded fear of
persecution should he be returned to Albania. See Faddoul v.
INS, 37 F.3d 185, 188 (5th Cir. 1994). Hoxha’s testimony
established that he personally was briefly detained during an

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No. 05-61122
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election dispute and was verbally threatened by police and
members of the Socialist Party. However, he was not physically
injured and evidently was free to move around the country to work
and take care of his grandmother. It was unclear from Hoxha’s
testimony whether his grandfather, brother, and sister were
victims of the Socialist Party or of criminals.
The IJ did not err by relying on materials prepared by the
State Department when making the determination whether Hoxha
should be granted asylum. See Rojas v. INS, 937 F.3d 186, 190
n.1 (5th Cir. 1991). Those materials indicated that the
Socialist Party is not engaged in persecution of its opponents
and that Albania is a functioning democracy with competitive
elections that are relatively fair and free. However, the
country has chronic crime issues, and local police evidently
engage in brutal conduct. Moreover, Hoxha’s testimony indicated
that he could relocate within Albania if necessary. See Lopez-
Gomez v. Ashcroft, 263 F.3d 442, 445 (5th Cir. 2001).
PETITION DENIED.

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