Full opinion text
ANDERSON, Chief Judge: Mazen and Fedaa A1 Najjar, a husband and wife in consolidated deportation proceedings, appeal decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) upholding an immigration judge’s (“IJ’s”) order of deportation which denied their petitions for asylum, withholding of removal, and suspension of deportation under sections 208(a), 243(h) and 244(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(a), 1253(h) and 1252(a) (1996). Because we find the BIA’s decisions to be supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole, we affirm and dismiss their petitions. Due to the complex procedural background of this case and the number of challenges raised, we set out the following table of contents to assist the reader of this opinion: TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Background.1270 A. Factual Background .1270 B. Procedural Background.1272 1. IJ Proceedings .1272 2. The INS Detains Mazen.1273 3. BIA Review of the Al Najjars’ Deportation Orders.1274 4. Mazen’s Habeas Corpus Proceedings.1275 II. Analysis.1276 A. Judicial Review After IIRIRA.1276 B. Judicial Notice.1277 C. Standard of Review. 1283 D. Asylum.1284 1. Actual Political Opinion.1286 2. Imputed Political Opinion.1288 3. Denial of Entry.1291 E. Withholding of Deportation.1292 F. Asylum & Withholding Testing Countries.1293 G. Suspension of Deportation.1296 H. Motions to Remand.1300 1. Judicial Review of a Motion to Reopen.1301 2. Heavy Burden.1302 3. Prima Facie CAT Claim .1303 III. Conclusion.1304 I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background Mazen Abdel Abdulkarim A1 Najjar (“Mazen”) was born in 1957 in Gaza. He lived in Palestine with his parents until his first birthday, when he and his family moved to Saudi Arabia. Mazen remained in Saudi Arabia with his parents and five siblings for thirteen years. When Mazen was fourteen, he moved to Egypt where he completed high school and attended Cairo University, culminating in the receipt of a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1979. From 1979 until 1981, Mazen worked and lived in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) on a temporary work visa. Mazen first entered the United States in 1981 using a Palestinian refugee travel document issued by the Egyptian government. He came to this country to pursue a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (“NCATSU”) in Greensboro, North Carolina after obtaining authorization from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) to remain in the United States for the duration of his nonimmigrant graduate student status. In 1984, after completing most of his thesis, but before graduation, Mazen left the United States to visit his parents in the UAE. After this trip, Mazen re-entered this country on December 8, 1984, and has not left the United States since then. Upon re-entry, he completed the final draft of his thesis and graduated with a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from NCATSU in May 1985. Thereafter, Mazen entered a Ph.D. program in Industrial Engineering at North Carolina State University where he remained for two semesters. While at North Carolina State, he was accepted into the doctoral program at the University of South Florida (“USF”) in Tampa. Mazen transferred to USF in 1986 and began working on his Ph.D. In the fall of 1993, he finished his dissertation and, in 1994, earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from USF. On January 30, 1988, while working toward his Ph.D. at USF, Mazen married his cousin, Fedaa Abdulkarim Muhammed Shaladen A1 Najjar, in Tampa, Florida. Fedaa entered the United States on January 22, 1988, just days before the wedding, at the age of twenty-three. She was lawfully admitted to the United States by the INS as a nonimmigrant visitor with authorization to remain for only one year. Like Mazen, Fedaa entered this country with a Palestinian refugee travel document issued by the Egyptian government. Fedaa was born in Saudi Arabia in 1964 to Palestinian parents. She lived in Saudi Arabia with her parents, two brothers, and four sisters from her birth until her entry into the United States. While in Saudi Arabia, Fedaa attended King Saud University, and received a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy. Fedaa’s father passed away in 1994, while she was living in the United States, but Fedaa’s mother, four sisters, and at least one of her two brothers presently reside in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Despite the fact that Fedaa was born in Saudi Arabia, she has never been eligible for Saudi citizenship because Saudi law grants citizenship solely based on Saudi ancestry. Fedaa is of Palestinian ancestry and therefore is not entitled to Saudi citizenship. Nonetheless, Fedaa obtained a Saudi re-entry visa, which remained valid if she returned to Saudi Arabia at least every six months. Fedaa failed to satisfy this condition while residing in the United States and, consequentially, she no longer has a valid Saudi re-entry visa. Mazen has lived in Tampa, Florida since 1986 when he began his studies at USF. Since Fedaa’s entry into the United States in 1988, she has resided continuously in Tampa, Florida, as well. While living there, the A1 Najjars had three daughters together. Each of the Al Najjars’ three daughters is a lawful citizen of this country. While living in Tampa, Fedaa and Mazen have been active in the Arab-American and Muslim communities. Mazen helped begin a mosque with the Islamic Community of Tampa, where he was elected president and served in a capacity similar to an Imam, for those of the Sunni Muslim faith. Fedaa has been active in various charitable events and programs sponsored by the mosque. Through the mosque, Fedaa and Mazen also helped found a private Muslim school, offering kindergarten through junior high school classes. Over the years, Fedaa taught classes at the mosque’s school and volunteered there in other capacities. While attending USF, Mazen helped begin the World and Islam Studies Enterprise (“WISE”), a think-tank ostensibly committed to educating the public about Islamic issues through research, publishing, and seminars. To this end, WISE held conferences with roundtable discussions involving international Islamic leaders and scholars of the Middle East. WISE also published various journals in Arabic, tackling issues which face Muslims today, as- well as cataloging discussions from the organization’s conferences. B. Procedural Background On April 19, 1985, the INS initiated deportation proceedings against Mazen by issuing an Order to Show Cause (“OSC”) under § 241(a)(9) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(9) (1984), for failing to maintain . the conditions of his nonimmigrant status by willfully providing untruthful information to the INS. The Service thereafter supplemented the OSC, charging that Mazen had not maintained the conditions of his nonimmigrant student status under the INA. The case was administratively closed on June 4, 1986, because Mazen failed to appear at the hearing. Two weeks later, on June 18, 1986, Mazen formally requested that the proceedings be reopened because he had not received notice of the hearing until two days after it was held. Mazen’s motion to reopen went unanswered for almost ten years, until his 1985 deportation proceedings were recal-endared for February 8,1996. In the meantime, Fedaa self-reported for deportation proceedings. On January 22, 1996, by OSC and Notice of Hearing, the INS charged Fedaa as deporatable under § 241(a)(1)(B) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(1)(B) (1996), as a nonimmigrant alien who remained in the United States for a longer period than permitted. 1. IJ Proceedings On February 8, 1996, Mazen’s recalen-dared deportation hearing was held. The Service issued a Form 1-261 to supplement the factual allegations contained in the April 1985 OSC. Over the objection of the INS, the IJ granted the Al Najjars’ motions to consolidate their deportation proceedings. Mazen and Fedaa both conceded deportability under the INA, but requested relief from deportation in the form of asylum, withholding of removal, and suspension of deportation. In July and October of 1996, consolidated hearings before an IJ in Orlando, Florida took place. At these hearings, Mazen and Fedaa argued that they were stateless Palestinians and declined to designate a country of deportation. Instead, the A1 Najjars argued that no Middle Eastern country would accept them as permanent residents due to their lack of citizenship anywhere in the world. In the course of the proceedings before the IJ, testimony from witnesses was heard, and a voluminous amount of documentary evidence was adduced. While much of this evidence was relevant to proving the elements of the Al Najjars’ petitions for relief, a substantial amount of evidence pertained to Mazen’s professional associations while living in Tampa, Florida. With respect to this latter type of evidence, the INS produced various media accounts, documents seized from WISE’s offices, and testimony of special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (“FBI”) and the INS. This evidence, primarily offered by the Service, purported to show an association between Mazen and individuals supporting terrorism in the Middle East. The INS argued that this terrorist evidence was offered to demonstrate that the A1 Najjars were not worthy of any discretionary relief. Much of the terrorist evidence offered to the IJ pertained to Mazen’s and WISE’s involvement with Ramadan Abdullah Shal-lah, a former adjunct professor at USF and an official of WISE, who left the United States in June of 1995. On October 31, 1995, at the funeral of assassinated Palestinian Islamic Jihad (“PIJ”) founder and leader Fathi Shikaki, Shallah was allegedly proclaiming himself as the new leader of the PIJ. During this speech, Shallah allegedly threatened to “eradicate” Israel, vowed to avenge Shikaki’s assassination at the hands of Israeli operatives, and “applauded the assassination ... of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel.” Before the IJ, Mazen’s attorney stipulated that Shallah had been reported to be the new leader of the PIJ. The PIJ is on the Secretary of State’s list of terrorist organizations. The group is committed to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and to undermining any attempt at a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The PIJ has taken responsibility for suicide bombings in the West Bank, Israel, and other parts of the Middle East that have killed Israeli soldiers; civilians, and an American student. In addition to the alleged association between WISE, the PIJ, and Shallah, many record documents purported to show a relationship between other militant organizations and WISE, as well as a Tampa-based charitable organization, the Islamic Concern Project (“ICP”), which was founded by Mazen’s brother-in-law Sami AI Ari-an. To this end, FBI and INS agents testified before the IJ that WISE and ICP were used as fronts to raise money for the PIJ and other militant Islamic-Palestinian groups such as the Hamas and the Intifada. On May 13, 1997, the IJ issued separate decisions in. Fedaa’s and Mazen’s cases, denying all forms of relief, including asylum, suspension of deportation, and withholding of removal. The IJ designated the UAE as the appropriate country of deportation for Mazen, and Saudi Arabia as the appropriate country of deportation for Fe-daa. The A1 Najjars immediately appealed both decisions to the BIA. 2. The INS Detains Mazen On May 19, 1997, days after the IJ issued its decisions in the AI Najjars’ deportation proceedings,- Special Agents with the FBI and INS arrested Mazen at his home based upon classified information that Mazen was connected with Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. On the basis of this secret evidence, the INS held Mazen without bond on the ground that he posed a threat to national security. Mazen requested a redetermination of his custody status in the immigration courts pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 242.2(d) (1995). The INS responded by serving him with a notice of intent to present classified information in an in camera proceeding in support of its custody determination. On May 29, 1997, a bond redeter-mination hearing was held before an IJ who conducted an ex parte in camera review of classified information submitted by the Service to prove Mazen’s association with the PIJ and other terrorist groups. Neither Mazen nor his attorney was present at this hearing, and no record of the hearing was made. The IJ did provide Mazen with an unclassified summary of the classified information, stating that: “This Court was provided with information as to the association of [Mazen] with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” Thereafter, the IJ issued a written decision finding that the classified information demonstrated that Mazen was a threat to national security which justified the INS’s decision to hold him in custody without bond. Mazen appealed the IJ’s decision to the BIA on the ground that it violated his First and Fifth Amendment rights to be held without bond on the basis of classified information. On September 15, 1998, the BIA issued its decision, finding that “in view of the government’s compelling need to shield important, classified national security information bearing on this matter, the Immigration Judge’s examination of the ex parte evidence in camera was proper and constitutionally sound.” Further, the BIA noted that the record reflected that Mazen was “associated” with the PIJ, and that his release from custody “would pose a threat to both (1) the national security of this country ... and (2) the safety of other persons or property ...” Thus, the BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision denying Mazen’s request to be released on bond. 3. BIA Review of the Al Najjars’ Deportation Orders In October 1999, over two years after the IJ entered the Al Najjars’ deportation orders, and almost one year after the BIA affirmed the continued detainment of Mazen on the basis of classified evidence, the BIA entered separate written decisions affirming the IJ’s denial of relief to Mazen and Fedaa. See In re Mazen Al Najjar, No. [ AXX XXX XXX ]—Miami, at 3 (BIA Oct. 26, 1999) (unpublished); In re Fedaa Al Najjar, No. [ AXX XXX XXX ] — Orlando, at 2 (BIA October 4, 1999) (unpublished). After denying the Al Najjars’ requests for oral argument, the BIA upheld the IJ’s orders of deportation and dismissed Fe-daa’s and Mazen’s appeals. In both cases, the BIA found that “the Immigration Judge adequately considered all of the evidence presented below under the proper legal standards and correctly addressed the issues that respondents] ... raised on appeal.” First, the BIA affirmed the IJ’s pretermittance of Mazen’s suspension application and the IJ’s denial of Fedaa’s suspension petition on the ground that she failed to demonstrate extreme hardship. Next, the Board affirmed the IJ’s finding that the Al Najjars failed to demonstrate a “well-founded fear of persecution” sufficient to support an asylum claim. Third, the BIA affirmed the IJ’s conclusion that, because they could not demonstrate statutory asylum eligibility, they could not meet the “higher burden” required to demonstrate entitlement to withholding of deportation. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the IJ’s decision, the BIA affirmed the denial of affirmative relief to the Al Najjars. The BIA then denied both of the Al Najjars’ motions to remand. As to their joint motion to remand under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), the BIA held that, because the “respondents] failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution” sufficient to support an asylum claim, they could not “meet the higher standard of presenting a prima facie case” under CAT. Secondly, the BIA denied the motions to remand for a new hearing on Mazen’s suspension claim, “given [its] disposition of th[e] appeal.” The Al Najjars filed a direct appeal of these decisions with this court. A Mazen’s Habeas Corpus Proceedings During the pendency of the Al Najjars’ appeal to this court, Mazen filed a verified petition for habeas corpus and a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the district court for the Southern District of Florida on December 22, 1999. See Al Najjar v. Reno, 97 F.Supp.2d 1329 (S.D.Fla.2000). In this petition, Mazen sought immediate release from custody pending the outcome of his deportation proceedings. He argued that his detention was unconstitutional and not authorized under any applicable regulations or statutes. The INS responded by filing a notice of intent to present to the district court the classified information that had previously been provided to the IJ and BIA in the custody proceedings. In an Order issued May 31, 2000, the district court found that the use of classified information at a bond redetermination proceeding “was within the implied statutory authority granted by INA § 242(a) and 8 C.F.R. § 3.19(d).” Id. at 1349. Nonetheless, the-court held that, by using the classified information against Mazen, the INS violated his rights to procedural due process. See id. at 1356-57. To remedy this, the district court granted relief, which had the effect of setting aside the immigration court’s bond determination so that a decision comporting with due process could be entered. The court warned that, in order to respect Mazen’s due process rights upon rehearing, .the immigration courts must rely exclusively on a public record or implement certain procedural safeguards to. protect Mazen’s rights despite the use of secret evidence. See id. at 1357-60. Lastly, the district court examined Mazen’s claim that his First Amendment associational rights were violated through the use of evidence purporting to criminalize an “association” with terrorist sympathizers. The court concluded that Mazen’s “mere ‘association’ with the PIJ is not a reasonable foundation for the IJ’s decision to deny bond and continue to detain Petitioner as a threat to national security.” Id. at 1362. Thus, .on remand, the court instructed the IJ to “determine whether the evidence demonstrates more than mere ‘membership’ or ‘association,’ but rather a ‘meaningful association’ or a ‘degree of participation’ in activities posing a threat to national security.” Id. Based on the foregoing, the court denied Mazen’s petition for habeas corpus in part by refusing to release him from custody, and granted the petition in part by effectively setting aside, as unconstitutional under the circumstances, the immigration court’s decisions to hold him without bond. In resolving the case, the court expressly found that review of the classified information was “unnecessary,” and noted that it did not review the information in resolving Mazen’s habeas corpus petition. Id. at 1336. Upon redetermination, the immigration judge held a two-phase proceeding in accordance with the district court’s opinion. First, the IJ examined the public record evidence and found that “the public record is insufficient to conclude that [Mazen] must be detained as a national security threat.” The IJ then explained that, if the Service so moved, it would conduct phase-two of the proceedings in which the INS could offer classified evidence in accordance with procedures that would protect Mazen’s constitutional rights. The INS filed such a motion and on November 29, 2000, the IJ entered a second order finding that the unclassified summary of the classified evidence submitted by the Service “fails to provide Respondent with ‘notice of the evidence against him and a meaningful opportunity to defend against that evidence.’ ” Thus, the IJ concluded that Mazen was eligible to be released on bond. The INS appealed. On appeal, the BIA denied the INS’s request to stay the November 29th Order releasing Mazen on bond. On December 15, 2000, after being detained for three and one-half years without any formal criminal charges being lodged, Mazen was released from custody on bond to await the resolution of his and his wife’s deportation proceedings. II. ANALYSIS In appealing their deportation orders, the A1 Najjars raise a myriad of issues. While we have considered all of the A1 Najjars’ arguments, we discuss only those issues which merit analysis. Before doing so, however, we will examine our own jurisdiction. A Judicial Review After IIRIRA Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”), Pub.L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-546, as amended by Extension of Stay in United States for Nurses Act, Pub.L. No. 104-302, 110 Stat. 3656 (1996), our authority to review a final order of deportation was altered from the previous grant under section 106 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1105a (1995). See Anin v. Reno, 188 F.3d 1273, 1275-76 n. 2. (11th Cir.1999) (per curiam). Specifically, IIRIRA § 306(b) repealed INA § 106, formerly 8 U.S.C. § 1105a, and IIRIRA § 306(a) replaced it with INA § 242, now codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (1999). See id. Where a final order of deportation is entered more than thirty days after the September 30,1996, enactment of IIRIRA, and the deportation proceedings were begun before April 1, 1997, the proceedings are not subject to the permanent new rules at INA § 242, 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (1999). See IIRIRA §§ 309(c)(1) & (4), reprinted in 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (history) (1999). Instead, IIRIRA’s “transitional changes in judicial review” (“transitional rules”) govern such a case. See id. Mazen’s deportation proceedings commenced in 1985 when the INS issued an OSC against him. Fedaa’s proceedings began in January of 1996 with the issuance of an OSC as well. Final orders of deportation were entered against Mazen and Fedaa in October 1999 when the BIA, by written opinion, affirmed the IJ’s decision denying relief under the INA. See 8 C.F.R. § 241.31 (2001) (explaining that an order of deportation “shall become final upon dismissal of an appeal by the Board of Immigration Appeals,” among other things). Thus, the A Najjars are subject to the transitional rules, not the new “permanent rules.” See Anin, 188 F.3d at 1276 n. 2. “Under the transitional rules, the ‘new rules’ do not apply unless a case meets the enumerated exceptions in IIRI-RA § 309(c)(4).” See id. That is, under the transitional rules, the old rules apply unless any of the transitional rules is triggered. See IIRIRA § 309(c)(1). Thus, as long as IIRIRA § 309(c) does not expressly alter our § 1105a review, we shall be guided by this old rule in reviewing a transitional alien’s petition. See id. B. Judicial Notice Before delving into the fact-intensive issues in this appeal, we will address the A1 Najjars’ two motions to supplement the record and requests for judicial notice. This is necessary in order to paint the factual backdrop against which we review their petitions. We summarily denied the Al Najjars’ first motion to supplement through a single judge Order dated May 19, 2000. On August 14, 2000, the A1 Najjars filed a second motion to supplement, which is essentially a renewal of the first, containing the same documents submitted with the first motion, plus five additional documents. Specifically, the second motion seeks to add twenty-one documents to the record, containing information which spans the gamut from newspaper clippings pertaining to Mazen’s detainment, to letters from the Embassy of the UAE and Amnesty International reports on human rights in Israel. The A1 Najjars argue that if we refuse to supplement the record with this evidence, we should take judicial notice of the facts contained in at least some of these documents, as the facts asserted therein meet the criteria for judicial notice under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The A1 Najjars also included a request for judicial notice in their reply brief on appeal, seeking recognition of United States treaties with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE. The A1 Najjars argue that these treaties require the sharing of classified information and that the United States, in consideration of its own notion that Mazen is a threat to national security, must apprise these nations of its concerns. The record reveals that the A1 Najjars did not move the BIA for administrative notice, nor did the AI Najjars seek to supplement the record before the Board with any of the foregoing documents. After examining our authority to admit factual material in the first instance in an immigration appeal, we address each of these motions in turn. Under § 106(a)(4) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4) (repealed), an alien’s “petition shall be determined solely upon the administrative record upon which the deportation order is based.” Indeed, the “general rule, applicable across the board to judicial review of administrative action and merely codified for immigration appeals in section 1105a(a)(4), is that the court may not go outside the administrative record.” Osaghae v. U.S. INS, 942 F.2d 1160, 1162 (7th Cir.1991). It is axiomatic that immigration courts are better suited than a reviewing court to make factual determinations regarding an alien’s status. Courts of appeal sit as reviewing bodies to engage in highly deferential review of BIA and IJ determinations. See INS v. Aguirre-Aguirre, 526 U.S. 415, 425, 119 S.Ct. 1439, 1445, 143 L.Ed.2d 590 (1999) (“judicial deference to the Executive Branch is especially appropriate in the immigration context where officials ‘exercise especially sensitive political functions that implicate questions of foreign relations’ ”); INS v. EliasZacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 112 S.Ct. 812, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (establishing a deferential substantial evidence test for our review of the BIA’s factual findings); Mitev v. INS, 67 F.3d 1325, 1331 (7th Cir.1995) (Because of the “ ‘extremely fact-intensive nature of [deportation] inquiries’ and the superior expertise of the agencies that administer our immigration law,” reviewing courts are “limited to providing deferential review of BIA decisions.”). Commensurate with this role, we cannot engage in fact-finding on appeal, nor may we weigh evidence that was not previously considered below. See Mazariegos v. INS, 241 F.3d 1320, 1323 (11th Cir.2001) (We “have emphasized [that] we may not ‘re-weigh the evidence’ from scratch.”); Rivera-Cruz v. INS, 948 F.2d 962, 967 (5th Cir.1991) (the alien’s attempt to argue “facts for the first time in this forum is misplaced, for we cannot weigh evidence that has not been brought previously before the Board”); Tejeda-Mata v. INS, 626 F.2d 721, 726 (9th Cir.1980) (“it is an established principle that this court does not sit as an administrative agency for the purpose of fact-finding in the first instance.”); see also Pollgreen v. Morris, 770 F.2d 1536, 1544-45 (11th Cir.1985) (reversing the district court’s de novo review of factual evidence which the administrative body had not previously considered because “[o]ur review ... is limited to the record compiled before the agency.”). Before IIRIRA, however, this Circuit and many others utilized 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c) to invoke our discretionary authority to remand immigration cases in which § 1105a(a)(4) applied, so that new, non-record evidence could be admitted on appeal and remanded for consideration by the Board. See, e.g., Saiyid v. INS, 132 F.3d 1380, 1384-85 (11th Cir.1998) (considering whether remand for the consideration of new evidence admitted for the first time on appeal was warranted under § 2347); Osaghae, 942 F.2d at 1161-62; Makonnen v. INS, 44 F.3d 1378, 1384-86 (8th Cir.1995); Becerra-Jimenez v. INS, 829 F.2d 996, 1000-02 (10th Cir.1987); Bernal-Garcia v. INS, 852 F.2d 144, 147 (5th Cir.1988); Dolores v. INS, 772 F.2d 223, 226-27 (6th Cir.1985) (per curiam); Coriolan v. INS, 559 F.2d 993, 1002-04 (5th Cir.1977) (taking judicial notice of non-record Amnesty International report to find that the report established dramatic changes in country conditions which merited reversal and remand under § 2347(c) for further consideration of the alien’s asylum claim). But see Ramirez-Gonzalez v. INS, 695 F.2d 1208, 1213-14 (9th Cir.1983) (holding that it is improper to apply § 2347(e) where an asylum applicant presents new evidence for the first time on appeal, because remanding under § 2347(c) amounts to an order to reopen, and a court should not generally compel the INS to reopen proceedings). In transitional cases, however, IIR-IRA § 309(c)(4)(B) directs that “a court may not order the taking of additional evidence under section 2347(c) of title 28.” See Altawil v. INS, 179 F.3d 791, 792-93 (9th Cir.1999) (denying transitional alien’s request for leave to adduce additional evidence and to remand to the Board thereon since IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B) precludes the reviewing court from “ordering] the taking of additional evidence by the Board under 28 U.S.C. 2347(c)”). Section 2347(c) pertains to an application in the court of appeals “for leave to adduce additional evidence” that “is material” and for which “there were reasonable grounds for failure to adduce the evidence before the agency.” 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c) (1994). Thus, IIRI-RA’s prohibition of remanding for the consideration of “additional evidence” pertains to non-record evidence that is introduced in the first instance before a reviewing-court. See Cardenas-Uriarte v. INS, 227 F.3d 1132, 1138 (9th Cir.2000) (“Section 2347 concerns a party’s appeal to [this] court [asking permission] to adduce addi-. tional evidence, for example, where new evidence about a well-founded fear of persecution is discovered.”). This court has not yet examined how § 1105a(a)(4) and § 2347(c) function in cases in which IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B) applies. Thus, we have surveyed the landscape of decisions granting judicial notice in immigration cases. In an en banc decision, the Ninth Circuit reasoned that § 1105a(a)(4) permits a court of appeals to “review out-of-record evidence only where (1) the Board considers the evidence; or (2) the Board abuses its discretion by failing to consider such evidence upon the motion of an applicant.” Fisher v. INS, 79 F.3d 955, 964 (9th Cir.1996). Based on this rule, Fisher refused to notice State Department Country Reports that could have been, but were not, offered below. See id. at 964. In later decisions, the Ninth Circuit retreated from Fisher. See, e.g., Rising v. INS, 124 F.3d 996, 998-99 (9th Cir.1997) (taking judicial notice of official INS forms not contained in the administrative record); Gafoor v. INS, 231 F.3d 645, 655-56 (9th Cir.2000) (taking judicial notice of dramatic developments in the proposed country of deportation arising between the BIA’s decision and appellate review). But see Hernandez v. INS, 229 F.3d 1157 (table), 2000 WL 831811, *1 (9th Cir.2000) (unpublished mem.) (denying alien’s request to file supplemental brief under Fisher because the brief “seeks, not to make legal arguments, but rather to present new evidence to this court”); Lin v. INS, 216 F.3d 1088 (table), 2000 WL 519092, at *1 (9th Cir.2000) (unpublished mem.) (refusing, under Fisher, to consider an affidavit which was not part of the administrative record but was submitted for the first time with the alien’s appellate brief); Orlando Villalobo v. INS, 178 F.3d 861 (table), 1999 WL 170865, *1 (9th Cir.1999) (unpublished mem.) (refusing, under Fisher, to consider Department of State Report that was not part of the administrative record); Fonseca-Zamora v. INS, 122 F.3d 1070 (table), 1997 WL 559637, at *1 (9th Cir.1997) (unpublished mem.) (denying request for judicial notice of non-record Department of State Country Reports under Fisher). In Lising v. INS, the Ninth Circuit attempted to justify the expansion of Fisher, by delineating Fisher’s policy and scope. See 124 F.3d at 998. Lising explains that: (1) “Fisher relates to evidentiary material that either party could have presented to the BIA but that the petitioner simply failed to introduce at the hearing” and, (2) “[t]he Fisher rule was intended to ensure that the petitioners present all outside documents, reports, or information during the course of the administrative proceedings and not offer them for the first time before th[e reviewing] court.” Id. Based on this articulation of Fisher, the Ninth Circuit has taken judicial notice of INS forms not contained in the administrative record, see id., as well as dramatic developments in the proposed country of deportation which arose between the BIA’s decision and the court of appeals review, see Gafoor, 231 F.3d at 655-56. “The Sixth Circuit consistently takes judicial notice of changed political circumstances in immigration cases.” Ivezaj v. INS, 84 F.3d 215, 219 (6th Cir.1996) (citing cases). To justify this in jurisdictional terms, the court has concluded that § 1105a(a)(4) “cannot be interpreted to bar [a court of appeals] ... from taking judicial notice of changed conditions in a foreign country.” Id. at 218. Similarly, without comment as to § 1105a(a)(4) or § 2347(c), the Seventh Circuit has taken judicial notice of drastic changes in country conditions occurring in the interim between the BIA decision and the court of appeals review. See Kaczmarczyk v. INS, 933 F.2d 588, 594 n. 4 (7th Cir.1991); Dobrota v. INS, 195 F.3d 970, 973 (7th Cir.1999) (judicially noticing a State Department Country Report and examining the facts therein which impacted the alien’s asylum claim, without mention of § 1105a(a)(4)); see also Fornalik v. Perryman, 223 F.3d 523, 529 (7th Cir.2000) (taking judicial notice of official notice sent by INS to alien even though it was not contained in the administrative record). More recently, in Meghani v. INS, 236 F.3d 843, 847-48 (7th Cir.2001), the Seventh Circuit, however, refused to remand an alien’s case so that a more current Department of State Report could be considered, even though the report was issued after the BIA’s decision but before judicial review. Although Meghani was a transitional rule case, its impetus for refusing to remand was not § 1105a(a)(4) or IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B). Instead, Meghani was based on the Seventh Circuit’s recognition that the alien could file a motion to reopen. See id. at 848. The common factor emerging from these decisions granting judicial notice is that virtually all recognize only facts relating to dramatic changes of conditions in the proposed country of removal which arose after the BIA’s review. See, e.g., Gafoor, 231 F.3d at 655-56; Dobrota, 195 F.3d at 973; Ivezaj, 84 F.3d at 218-19; Kaczmarczyk, 933 F.2d at 594 n. 4; see also Fornalik, 223 F.3d at 529 (noticing official INS form); Lising, 124 F.3d at 998 (same). We derive little comfort from the surveyed decisions, however, because none justifies how, in the face of IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B), we may expand the administrative record with facts not adduced below. Some of the surveyed decisions are governed by the old rules, and therefore do not reflect the effect of IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B). Of those cases that do fall under the transitional rules, none even mentions IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B), and therefore, we cannot regard them as persuasive authority. . . We interpret IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B) as eliminating our authority under § 2347(c) to remand to the BIA so that an alien can present “additional evidence.” See IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B); Saiyid, 132 F.3d at 1384 n. 5 (noting, in dicta, that IIRIRA “eliminates § 2347 jurisdiction over motions to reopen”). This means that, in transitional cases, IIRIRA prohibits us from ordering the BIA to consider evidence that is offered for the first time on appeal, even if such material satisfies the rigors of § 2347(c). Under transitional rule § 309(c)(4)(B), we must act within the constructs of § 1105a(a)(4) and may not rely on our § 2347(c) authority. Given this procedural paradigm, IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B) is a jurisdictional bar that precludes our consideration of non-record evidence submitted for the first time on appeal. Having satisfied ourselves of this rule, we turn now to address the Al Naj-jars’ two motions to supplement the record on appeal and to take judicial notice. The Al Najjars’ second motion to supplement and/or to take judicial notice is nothing more than an attempt to have us weigh non-record evidence for the first time on appeal and to remand for the consideration of this additional evidence. Under § 1105a(a)(4), however, we cannot consider evidence that was not previously brought before the Board. See Onyeme v. INS, 146 F.3d 227, 235 n. 8 (4th Cir.1998). Our role as a reviewing body does not contemplate a fact-finding function, and § 1105a(a)(4) stands to prohibit us from such an endeavor in the usual case by limiting our review to the administrative record. Even if we were inclined to disregard § 1105a(a)(4) under our § 2347(c) discretion, as some of our sister Circuits have done, IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B) has stripped us of authority to step outside of the administrative record and to remand for the consideration of non-record evidence. Pursuant to IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B) and § 1105a(a)(4), we deny the Al Najjars’ second motion to supplement the record with new evidence relating to the merits of their petitions for relief. Despite the jurisdictional bar to our consideration of the foregoing non-record documents, the Al Najjars’ claim, on appeal, that Mazen’s custody proceedings improperly affected their deportation cases. Although we are jurisdietionally precluded from admitting the proffered newspaper articles describing .the custody proceedings, we may, and do, take judicial notice of the fact that Mazen’s custody proceeding occurred and the subject matter thereof. See In re Delta Resources, Inc., 54 F.3d 722, 725 (11th Cir.1995) (“[T]his Court may take judicial ‘notice of another court’s order ... for the limited purpose of recognizing the “judicial act” that the order represents or the subject matter of the litigation and related filings.’ ”). We will not take judicial notice of any factual findings, legal conclusions, or arguments advanced in the custody proceedings, and we will not consider these proceedings as impacting any of the Al Najjars’ claims on appeal. See 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4). In sum, we take judicial notice of the fact that Mazen’s custody proceedings occurred, and the subject matter thereof, although we will not rely on these proceedings in reviewing the BIA’s decisions. We also deny the Al Najjars’ request for judicial notice of United States treaties with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel. Not only is our review limited to the administrative record created below, see 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4), but arguments which were not raised at the administra-five level may not be interposed on appeal, see 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(c). Nowhere in the record do the Al Najjars argue that treaties preclude their return to the UAE or Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it would be improper for us to consider these arguments and the non-record facts on which they are based. See Richardson I, 162 F.3d at 1373; Ka Fung Chan, 634 F.2d 248, 258 (5th Cir.1981) (“Under 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(c), this failure to exhaust administrative remedies precludes review of [the] ... arguments in this court”). For the foregoing reasons, we decline, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a and IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(B), to entertain evidence on appeal that is not contained in the administrative record and was not presented below. Accordingly, review of the A1 Najjars’ petitions shall be limited to the administrative record created below. C. Standard of Review “The appropriate standard of review is well-settled.” Mazariegos, 241 F.3d at 1323. “A factual determination by the BIA that an alien is statutorily ineligible for asylum or withholding is reviewed under the substantial evidence test.” Perlera-Escobar v. Executive Office for Immigration, 894 F.2d 1292, 1296 (11th Cir.1990) (per curiam). This means that the reviewing court must affirm the BIA’s decision if it is “supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole.” Lorisme v. INS, 129 F.3d 1441, 1444-45 (11th Cir.1997) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4)). We have repeatedly emphasized that the test is highly deferential, see id. at 1444-45; Mazariegos, 241 F.3d at 1323, and that “[w]e must defer to the BIA unless ‘a reasonable factfinder would have to conclude that the requisite fear of persecution existed.’ ” Lorisme, 129 F.3d at 1445 (quoting Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 481, 112 S.Ct. at 815); Mazariegos, 241 F.3d at 1323. While we consider the BIA’s interpretation of applicable statutes de novo, INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 446-48, 107 S.Ct. 1207, 1221-22, 94 L.Ed.2d 434 (1987), “we are also obliged ... to defer to the BIA’s interpretation ... if that interpretation is reasonable.” Perlera-Escobar, 894 F.2d at 1296; see also INS v. Aguirre-Aguirre, 526 U.S. 415, 424, 119 S.Ct. 1439, 1445-46, 143 L.Ed.2d 590 (1999). We review only the Board’s decision, except to the extent that it expressly adopts the IJ’s opinion. See Garrovillas v. INS, 156 F.3d 1010, 1013 (9th Cir.1998). Insofar as the Board adopts the IJ’s reasoning, we will review the IJ’s decision as well. See Prado-Gonzalez v. INS, 75 F.3d 631, 632 (11th Cir.1996) (per curiam). In the Al Najjars’ cases, the BIA expressly adopted the IJ’s decisions and affirmed for the “reasons set forth therein.” Thus, we review the IJ’s analysis as if it were the Board’s. D. Asylum The INA provides that “[a]ny alien who is physically present in the United States ... irrespective of such alien's status, may apply for asylum.” 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(1) (1999). “The Attorney General may grant asylum to an alien ... if the Attorney General determines that such alien is a refugee within the meaning of § 1101(a)(42)(A) of [Title 8].” 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1). In turn, a “refugee” is defined as: [A]ny person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that 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 .... 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). A grant of asylum entails two steps. First, the applicant must demonstrate that he or she is a “refugee” within the meaning of INA § 101(a)(42)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). It is the asylum applicant who bears the burden of proving such statutory “refugee” status. See 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(a) (2001). Once the alien demonstrates that he or she is a “refugee” within the meaning of the INA, the decision to grant asylum is committed to the Attorney General’s discretion, which has been delegated to the Board. See 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d)(1) (2001). “Both this court and the Supreme Court have emphasized that ‘an alien who satisfies the [applicable standard for asylum] does not have a right to remain in the United States; he or she is simply eligible for asylum, if the Attorney General, in [her] discretion, chooses to grant it.’ ” Lorisme, 129 F.3d at 1444 (emphasis in original). In reviewing the Al Najjars’ cases, the BIA concluded that the IJ “properly held ... that the respondents] did not meet [the] burden of demonstrating a ‘well-founded fear of persecution’ on account of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group, or on account of a political opinion, whether actual or imputed.” In finding that the Al Najjars failed to establish statutory asylum eligibility, the immigration courts did not address the second prong of the asylum inquiry — discretion. Thus, on appeal, only the question of statutory eligibility is at issue. After a thorough review of the entire administrative record, we find the BIA’s conclusion that the Al Najjars failed to demonstrate any “well-founded fear of persecution on account” of any statutory factor to be “supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole.” See 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4); Perlera-Escobar, 894 F.2d at 1296. Before this court, the Al Najjars advance three articulations of error in the finding that they failed to establish a “well-founded fear of persecution.” First, they claim that they will be persecuted in the UAE and Saudi Arabia because of their actual political opinion advocating Palestinian self-determination, which has been made public to the governments in the proposed countries of removal due to the United States’ allegations against Mazen and the proliferation of news accounts regarding WISE, ICP, and those associated therewith. Second, the Al Najjars argue that terrorist sympathies attributed to Mazen by the media and the United States government, regardless of their veracity, will cause them persecution in the UAE and Saudi Arabia on account of an imputed political opinion. Lastly, the A1 Najjars contend that substantial record evidence established that they would be denied entry into the UAE and Saudi Arabia because of their Palestinian ancestry. We address each argument in turn. 1. Actual Political Opinion First, the A1 Najjars argue that they demonstrated “well-founded fear of persecution” on the grounds of their actual political opinion in Palestinian self-determination and opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. We utilize a very deferential substantial evidence test to review the IJ’s factual determination to the contrary. See Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 481, 112 S.Ct. at 815. We will reverse the denial of asylum only if the evidence presented by the applicant is so overwhelming “that a reasonable factfinder would have to conclude that the requisite fear of persecution exists.” Mazariegos, 241 F.3d at 1323-24 (emphasis in original). There is substantial record evidence demonstrating Mazen’s personal belief and outspoken advocacy for Palestinian autonomy. Before the IJ, Mazen testified that he did not agree with the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The record further reveals that Mazen helped begin a think-tank, WISE, which was ostensibly committed to “educating] the public about Islamic issues through research, publishing and seminars.” Mazen volunteered countless hours to the activities of WISE, and the resume he submitted to the immigration court indicates that he was the Executive Director of WISE from 1990 until the organization dissolved in the mid-nineties. WISE produced various seminars and journals that focused on the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and advocated autonomy and self-determination for Palestine. Mazen acted as an editor in the publication of many of these journals and was a speaker regarding Palestinian issues at some of the WISE-sponsored conferences. Based on these offers of proof, there is reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record as a whole demonstrating Mazen’s actual belief in Palestinian self-determination. Demonstrating one’s political opinion, however, is merely one component of the “refugee” inquiry. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). To be eligible for asylum, the alien must establish a “well-founded fear” that his or her political opinion (or other statutorily listed factor) will cause harm or suffering that rises to the level of “persecution.” See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). “Demonstrating such a connection requires the alien to present ‘specific, detailed facts showing a good reason to fear that he or she will be singled out for persecution”’ on account of such an opinion. Faddoul v. INS, 37 F.3d 185, 188 (5th Cir.1994) (quoting Zulbeari v. INS, 963 F.2d 999, 1000 (7th Cir.1992)); Rezai v. INS, 62 F.3d 1286, 1289 (10th Cir.1995) (alien “must present specific, credible evidence to support his claim that he has been persecuted or will be persecuted if deported”); M.A. v. U.S. INS, 899 F.2d 304, 311 (4th Cir.1990) (en banc) (“To validate the ‘well-foundedness’ of his fear, [the alien] must set forth specific, concrete facts.”). Mazen failed to demonstrate that he possessed a “well-founded fear” of persecution in the UAE on account of his actual political opinion regarding Palestinian autonomy. The voluminous record in this case contains only a few documents cata-loguing political and social conditions in the UAE. While some of the media reports in the record contain isolated comments about political conditions in various Middle Eastern countries, none offers any facts that are relevant to this vein of Mazen’s argument. Instead, the primary offer of documentary proof regarding conditions in the UAE (and Saudi Arabia) derives from reports published by the Department of State regarding human rights practices. See U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1995, at 1249 (Saudi Arabia), at 1274 (UAE) (“Department of State Report” or “DOS Report”). The 1995 Department of State Report, however, not only discounts Mazen’s argument here; it rebuts it. First, the DOS Report states that there have been no reports of politically motivated disappearances or torture at the hands of the Emirate government. See DOS Report, supra, at 1276. Then, the Report explains that there have been no reported political prisoners in the UAE. See id. Thus, there is no reason to think that Mazen will be jailed for his political beliefs, whatever they may be. Cutting even further against Mazen’s position, the DOS Report indicates that the Emirate government is not hostile to Mazen’s ideology, but in fact sympathizes with his position regarding Palestinian autonomy. The Report explains that, commensurate with the country’s censorship policies, officials with the Ministry of Information and Culture censor foreign periodicals, books, and broadcasting programs to weed out material that the government wishes to suppress. See id. at 1277. Predominately, the censored material is that which is contrary to Islam, such as pornography, but the Ministry also censors that which is derogatory to the Emirate government and material that is “favorable to Israel.” Id. Insofar as the UAE has a policy of censoring materials that are favorable to Israel, the UAE has an official position that is similar to Mazen’s advocacy against Israel and in favor of Palestinian self-detérmination. Because Mazen’s actual political opinions are, at the very least, not in conflict with the official policy of the UAE, we fail to see any threat that Mazen will be persecuted by the Emirate government for his actual convictions. Accordingly, we find substantial evidence supporting the IJ’s determination that Mazen failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution based on his actual political opinion in Palestinian self-determination. To the extent Mazen argues that he will suffer persecution on account of the official stifling of academic freedom and political advocacy in the UAE, we reject his argument. The DOS Report explains that the UAE’s Provisional Constitution creates freedom of speech, but, in practice, this freedom is rather limited. See id. at 1276. There are unwritten but generally recognized bans on criticism of the government, and the UAE prohibits the formation of political parties. See DOS Report, supra, at 1277. These restrictions are insufficient to amount to persecution. First, Mazen testified that he has never criticized the Emirate government. Because Mazen has never articulated the forbidden speech, we fail to see why his academic advocacy would be officially silenced by the Emirate authorities. Second, and more importantly, “[p]olitical conditions ‘which affect the populace as a whole or in large part are generally insufficient to establish [persecution].’ ” Gonzalez v. Reno, 212 F.3d 1338, 1355 (11th Cir.2000) (quoting Mitev v. INS, 67 F.3d 1325, 1330 (7th Cir.1995)). Because any governmental bar on political advocacy, association, or free speech is applicable to the general population of the UAE, these social constraints do not amount to persecution on the grounds of political opinion. See id. 2. Imputed Political Opinion Next, the Al Najjars argue that it was an abuse of discretion for the IJ and BIA to reject their asylum claims as to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, because allegations of terrorist associations, regardless of their veracity, create terrorist opinions imputed to them by the United States government and media which will cause persecution. Specifically, the Al Najjars contend that their imputed association and affiliation with the PIJ, Intifada, Hamas and/or other militant Islamic organizations will cause them persecution in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. “[A]n imputed political opinion, whether correctly or incorrectly attributed,” may constitute a ground for a “well-founded fear” of political persecution within the meaning of the INA. Morales v. INS, 208 F.3d 323, 331 (1st Cir.2000). See, e.g., Lwin v. INS, 144 F.3d 505, 509 (7th Cir.1998); Cruz-Diaz v. U.S. INS, 86 F.3d 330, 331-32 (4th Cir.1996) (per curiam); Canas-Segovia v. INS, 970 F.2d 599, 601-02 (9th Cir.1992); Matter of S-P-, 21 I & N Dec. 486 (BIA 1996) (“Persecution for ‘imputed’ grounds (e.g., where one is erroneously thought to hold particular political opinions or mistakenly believed to be a member of a religious sect) can satisfy the ‘refugee’ definition.”). “An asylum applicant may prevail on a theory of ‘imputed political opinion’ if he shows that the ‘[persecutor falsely attribute[d] an opinion to [him], and then persecute[d][him] because of that mistaken belief about [his] views.’ ” Chanchavac v. INS, 207 F.3d 584, 591 (9th Cir.2000) (quoting Canas-Segovia, 970 F.2d at 601-02). Even if we were to find that Saudi Arabia and the UAE would impute terrorist opinions to Mazen and Fedaa, the A1 Naj-jars would still be required to demonstrate that they have a “well-founded fear of persecution” because of that imputed political opinion. The Al Najjars failed to offer any evidence of such a well-founded fear, and they certainly have not satisfied the heavy burden on asylum applicants arguing that the BIA erred in its factual determination that they are statutorily ineligible for asylum. Accordingly, we need not decide whether the A1 Najjars demonstrated the imputation of terrorist opinions. Instead, we review the BIA’s finding that the A1 Najjars failed to demonstrate past persecution or a “well-founded fear” of future persecution on account of such an opinion. See Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 483, 112 S.Ct. at 816 (concluding that because the alien failed to demonstrate a “well-founded fear,” the Court “need not decide whether the evidence compels the conclusion that [the alien] held a political opinion,” because “[e]ven if it does, [the alien] still has to establish that the record also compels the conclusion that he has a ‘well-founded fear’ ... [of] persecution] ... because of that political opinion.”) (emphasis in original). While the precise contours of the “well-founded fear” inquiry continue to evolve, it is well-established that it has both an objective and subjective component. What this means is that an applicant must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution is subjectively genuine and objectively reasonable. See Mgoian v. INS, 184 F.3d 1029, 1035 (9th Cir.1999); Sayaxing v. INS, 179 F.3d 515, 519-20 (7th Cir.1999) (same); Mikhailevitch v. INS, 146 F.3d 384, 389 (6th Cir.1998) (same); Nazaraghaie v. INS, 102 F.3d 460, 462 (10th Cir.1996) (same); Ghasemimehr v. INS, 7 F.3d 1389, 1390 (8th Cir.1993) (per curiam) (same); Guevara Flores v. INS, 786 F.2d 1242, 1249 (5th Cir.1986) (“An alien possesses a well-founded fear of persecution if a reasonable person in her circumstances would fear persecution if she were to be returned to her native country.”). The subjective component is generally satisfied by the applicant’s credible testimony that he or she genuinely fears persecution. See Mgoian, 184 F.3d at 1035. In most cases, the objective prong can be fulfilled either by establishing past persecution or that he or she has a “good reason to fear future persecution.” Id. Mazen failed to prove both the objective and subjective components of his well-founded fear based on imputed political opinions. The record is devoid of evidence that the Emirate government has ever detained, arrested, tortured, or otherwise harmed any suspected member of the PIJ or other Islamic terrorist group opposed to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, much less one who merely is alleged to have some association with such a group. Indeed, there was no record evidence indicating that the UAE feels threatened from terrorist acts in Israel or in any way sympathizes with the Israeli government. Instead, Department of State Reports indicate that the UAE is a predominatingly Arab nation, with a devoutly Muslim population and a large number of Palestinian refugees. If anything, this indicates that the UAE is likely to be sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians, not the Israelis. Whatever inferences may be drawn from this Report, however, are not within our province to make, since Mazen was required to demonstrate “ ‘specific, detailed facts showing a good reason to fear that he ... will be singled out for persecution.’ ” Faddoul, 37 F.3d at 188. He failed to offer any proof that the Emirate government has a history of persecuting terrorists, members of the PIJ, or any other individual with a similar ideology, much less one who is merely alleged to have some association therewith. He likewise failed to present evidence that fear of such future suffering is reasonable. Mazen failed to establish the subjective component as well. During his testimony, when asked whether he feared persecution in the UAE, Mazen recited only his fear of discrimination on the basis of his Palestinian ancestry. At no time during the hearings before the IJ did Mazen testify that he “genuinely fears persecution” in the UAE on account of imputed terrorist loyalties, and there is no other record evidence indicating that he possessed such a fear. The “denial of asylum may be reversed only if the evidence presented by the applicant is so powerful that a reasonable factfinder would have to conclude that the requisite fear of persecution exists.” Mazariegos, 241 F.3d at 1323-24. Mazen failed to present such evidence below. Accordingly, we cannot say that the IJ lacked a substantial basis for its conclusion that Mazen’s fears of persecution in the UAE on account of imputed political opinion were not well-founded. We likewise see no reason to disturb the IJ’s finding that Fedaa’s fear of persecution due to imputed political opinions was not well-founded. Not only did she fail to present any evidence that she personally and genuinely feared persecution due to imputed terrorist opinions, but she also failed to demonstrate that Saudi Arabia has persecuted suspected members of the PIJ or individuals opposed to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, much less the spouse of a person who is merely alleged to have some association with such a group. Likewise, there was no showing that suspected members of the PIJ or other similar terrorist group will be persecuted by Saudi Arabia in the future. Accordingly, we affirm the IJ’s finding that Fedaa “failed to provide evidence that published allegations regarding her husband would subject her to persecution.” S. Denial of Entry Lastly, the Al Najjars claim that they will be denied entry into the UAE and Saudi Arabia because of their status as stateless Palestinians, which they claim constitutes persecution on account of nationality. The IJ rejected this argument, finding that “persecution based on denial of entry was not established” as to Fedaa or Mazen. In so doing, the IJ relied on Faddoul v. INS, 37 F.3d 185 (5th Cir.1994). In Faddoul, a Saudi-born Palestinian argued that Saudi Arabia’s denial of exit and re-entry privileges to Palestinians born in Saudi Arabia constitutes