Eseye Rikitu v. John Ashcroft

Eseye Rikitu, a citizen of Ethiopia, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) summarily affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and suspension of deportation. After careful review of the record, we deny the petition.

In his application for relief, Rikitu claimed to have suffered past persecution due to his religious and political beliefs, as well as his Oromo ethnicity, and further stated that he feared future persecution on these same grounds if forced to return to Ethiopia. Rikitu also…