In re a-S-
| Decision Date | 19 February 1998 |
| Docket Number | Interim Decision No. 3336. |
| Citation | 21 I&N Dec. 1106 |
| Parties | In re A-S-, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. DOJ Board of Immigration Appeals |
In a decision dated September 3, 1996, an Immigration Judge found the respondent deportable as charged and denied his applications for asylum under section 208(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(1994), and withholding of deportation under section 243(h) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h) (1994). In lieu of deportation, the Immigration Judge granted the respondent the privilege of voluntary departure under section 244(e)(1) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1254(e)(1) (1994). The respondent has timely appealed the Immigration Judge's decision denying the applications for asylum and withholding of deportation. For the following reasons, we will dismiss the respondent's appeal.
The respondent is a 29-year-old native and citizen of Bangladesh who claims that he suffered past persecution and has a well-founded fear of persecution in his native country on account of his political opinion. The respondent entered the United States on September 2, 1994, without valid documentation and shortly thereafter filed an Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Deportation (Form I-589). After the initiation of these proceedings, the respondent submitted a second asylum application.1
The respondent testified at his deportation hearing that in 1985 he joined the Jatiyo Party, the political party of then-President Mohammed Ershad. He claimed that in 1987, the Jatiyo Party appointed him to the position of "Organizing Secretary" for his sub-district, a job that involved numerous duties, including meetings with President Ershad twice a month. The respondent testified that in 1991, after President Ershad was defeated in general elections, members of the Bangladesh National Party ("BNP") and Awami League, two rival political parties, began to search for him. Members of these political parties allegedly planned to recruit the respondent or to kill him in retaliation for his role in the Jatiyo Party.
The respondent then described the various incidents that form the heart of his persecution claim. First, the respondent testified that on July 12, 1993, BNP members forcibly entered his house in an effort to find him. Although the respondent was not home at the time, the intruders threatened his parents. In contrast, the respondent's asylum application states that this incident occurred on March 12, 1991. Also differing from the oral testimony, the asylum application states the respondent was at home at the time of the intrusion but that he hid from the BNP members.
Second, the respondent testified that later that same month (July 1993), BNP and Awami League members returned to his house, and as he attempted to flee, they severely beat him about the head with a bamboo stick. The respondent claimed that he was rendered unconscious from the beating and required 3 weeks of medical treatment. In contrast, the respondent's asylum application states that this incident occurred on January 10, 1992.
Next, the respondent described a third incident which occurred sometime that same month (July 1993). This incident involved members of the BNP and Awami League forcibly entering his house at approximately 11:00 p.m. When these political opponents allegedly discovered that the respondent was not at home, they physically assaulted members of his family.2 This incident is nowhere described in his asylum application. The asylum application does however, recount that the respondent was involved in a July 1993 demonstration at which police physically attacked him, necessitating several days of medical treatment. The respondent did not offer any testimony about this incident at his deportation hearing.
Finally, the respondent testified that police issued a warrant for his arrest on July 15, 1994, which falsely alleged that he had committed various political crimes. In contrast, his asylum application states that police issued this warrant on January 15, 1994.
Because he feared arrest and believed that he would endure further persecution, the respondent secured a false passport and fled Bangladesh. The respondent fears returning to Bangladesh because he believes that his political opponents will kill him. Members of the BNP and Awami League allegedly have told the respondent's father that they are looking for the respondent and plan to kill him.
Citing Matter of Mogharrabi, 19 I&N Dec. 439 (BIA 1987), the Immigration Judge found that the respondent's testimony could not "be relied upon," and "was vague and lacking in specifics and details," especially considering the respondent's alleged high-level participation in the Jatiyo Party. In his decision, the Immigration Judge (1) provided numerous examples of the respondent's inconsistent testimony involving dates that conflicted with the asylum application; (2) pointed out that the respondent failed to offer any testimony regarding his participation in the July 1993 demonstration; (3) stated that the respondent "seemed to have some confusion about the February of 1991 elections," and gave contradictory testimony about whether the Jatiyo Party and President Ershad actually took part in the elections or won any seats; and (4) refused to give significant weight to two letters submitted by the respondent to prove his party membership. In offering further support for his adverse credibility finding, the Immigration Judge also observed that the respondent testified in a "very halting" and "hesitant" manner.
After noting these concerns, the Immigration Judge concluded that the sparse documentary evidence of record failed to support the respondent's allegations of persecution. Finally, he found that the respondent's fear of persecution was not well founded considering the recent participation of the Jatiyo Party with the coalition government, and he therefore denied the applications for asylum and withholding of deportation. As noted above, the Immigration Judge granted the respondent the privilege of voluntary departure from the United States.
The respondent alleges on appeal that the Immigration Judge "acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner by discounting [his] detailed oral testimony." Without addressing any of the concerns raised by the Immigration Judge regarding his lack of credibility, the respondent states in a conclusory fashion that "his testimony is believable and sufficiently detailed to meet the standard articulated in the [Board's] decision [in] Matter of Mogharrabi."
It is axiomatic that the Board has the authority to employ a de novo standard of appellate review in deciding the ultimate disposition of a case. Matter of Burbano, 20 I&N Dec. 872, 873 (BIA 1994) (citing 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d)(1) (1994)). However, it is also well established that because the Immigration Judge has the advantage of observing the alien as the alien testifies, the Board accords deference to the Immigration Judge's findings concerning credibility and credibility-related issues. See Matter of Burbano, supra, at 874; Matter of Pula, 19 I&N Dec. 467, 471-72 (BIA 1987); Matter of Kulle, 19 I&N Dec. 318, 331-32 (BIA 1985), aff'd, 825 F.2d 1188 (7th Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1041 (1988). Under certain circumstances, the Board may not accord deference to an Immigration Judge's credibility finding where that finding is not supported by the record. See, e.g., Matter of B-, 21 I&N Dec. 66, 70 (BIA 1995); Matter of B-, 7 I&N Dec. 1, 32 (BIA 1955; A.G. 1956).
In this case, the Immigration Judge's decision comprehensively enumerates the reasons underpinning the adverse credibility determination. The Immigration Judge focused not only on the inconsistencies and omissions regarding the dates of key events forming the heart of the respondent's persecution claim, but he also relied on observations of the respondent's demeanor. Because our review of the record reveals that the Immigration Judge's findings are supported by specific and cogent reasons, and that reasonable inferences and conclusions were drawn by him with regard to credibility, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the Immigration Judge.
The Immigration Judge focused much of the adverse credibility finding on the inconsistencies and omissions regarding dates and events central to the respondent's persecution claim. See de Leon-Barrios v. INS, 116 F.3d...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Litvinov v. Holder, No. 09-2351 (8th Cir. 5/20/2010), 09-2351.
...by a specific, cogent reason for disbelief." Sow v. Mukasey, 546 F.3d 953, 956 (8th Cir. 2008) (quotation omitted). In In re A-S-, 21 I. & N. Dec. 1106 (BIA 1998), the BIA affirmed the IJ's decision that an asylum applicant's testimony was not credible based on failure to provide a "convinc......