T hi s di s pos i t i on i s notappr opr i a t e f orpubl i c a t i on and i s notpr e c e de nt * e xc e pta s pr ovi de d by 9th C i r . R . 36- 3. NOT F OR P UB L I CAT I ON UN I TE D STATE S C OU RT OF APPE ALS FOR T HE NI NTH CI RC UI T RO H I T K U M A R, P et i t i on er , v. E R I C H . H O L D E R J r ., A tto rn e y G e n e r a l, R e s p o n d e n t. N o. 08- 72263 A ge nc y N o. A 099- 340- 517 ME MOR AN DU M *

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orR e vi e w of

a n O r de rof

the B o a r d o f I m m ig r a tio n A p p e a ls A r gue d a nd S ubm i tt e d J a nua ry 15, 2010 S a n F r a n c is c o , C a lif

o rn ia B efo re: N O O N A N , H A W K IN S an d M . S M IT H , C i rcu i tJu d g es. R oh i tK um ar , a nat i ve and ci t i ze n o f I nd i a, pet i t i on s f or re vi ew of an order by the B oa r d of

I m m i gr a t i on A ppe a l s ( B I A orB oa r d) di s m i s s i ng hi s appe a l f r om a n i mmi g r a t i o n j u d g e ’ s ( I J ) d e c i s i o n d e n y i n g h i s ap p l i c a t i o n f o ra s y l u m, w i thh ol di ng of re m ov al , and p rot ec t i on un der the C on vent i on A gai nstT orture (C A T ). W e a ss um e the part i es ’ fa m i l i ar i ty w i th the fa ct s and do no tre coun tthem 

# FI LED FEB 11 2 010 M OLLY C. DW Y ER, CLERK U . S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS2

h e r e , e x c e p t a s n e c e s s a ry to e x p la in o u rd e c is io n . W e h a v e ju r is d ic tio n p u r s u a n t to 8 U . S . C . § 1 25 2. W e grantthe pet i t i on for r evi ew and rem and for further p ro ceed i n g s. T hi s c ou rtre vi ew s a dv er se cr edi bi l i ty det erm i nat i on s f or subst ant i al evi dence, w hi ch m eans “ the B IA ’ s det erm i nat i on m ustbe up hel d i f i ti s s up po rt ed by re as on abl e, subst ant i al and p robat i ve evi dence fr om the re cord. ” Kum ar v. G on zales , 4 4 4 F .3 d 1 0 4 3 , 1 0 4 9 ( 9 th C ir . 2 0 0 6 ) . O n r e v ie w o f a g e n c y c r e d ib ility det erm i nat i on s, w e app l y a“ rul e- of-r ea son” anal ys i s, w hi ch gi ves a m pl e def er ence t o the agency, bu tm ustt ake i nt o acc ou ntthe “ t ot al i ty of the ci rc um st ance s. ” Sh restha v. H

older , 59 0 F . 3d 10 34 , 10 44 (9th C i r. 20 10 ). T hi s c ou rt

“ i n d ep en d en t l y rev i ew [s] each g ro u n d th e IJ ci t es i n su p p o rto f an ad v erse cr edi bi l i ty f

i nd i ng . ” Si ng h v. G on zales , 4 3 9 F .3 d 1 1 0 0 , 1 1 0 5 ( 9 th C ir . 2 0 0 6 ) .

“ W here the B IA has r evi ew ed the IJ ’ s dec i si on and i ncorpo ra t ed po rt i on s of i tas i t s ow n, [ thi s c ourt ] tr e a t [ s ] the i nc orpor a t e d pa rt s of the I J ’ s de c i s i on a s the B IA ’ s. ” M

alkand iv. H

older , 576 F . 3d 906, 917 ( 9th C i r . 2009) ( i nt e rna l quot a t i on m arks and el l i psi s om i tt ed). U nde rthe R E A L I D A c t , w hi c h gove rns thi s c a s e , “ c r e di bi l i ty f i ndi ngs no l on ger need t o g o ‘ t o the heartof the appl i cant ’ s c l ai m . ’ ” I d. a t918 ( quot i ng § 1 1 5 8 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( B ) ( iii) ) . H o w e v e r , “a n I Jc a n n o t s e le c tiv e lye x a m in e e v id e n c e in3

d et erm i n i n g cred i b i l i ty, b u tm u stp resen ta reaso n ed an al ysi s o f th e ev i d en ce as a w ho l e. ” Shr e s tha , 5 9 0 F .3 d a t 1 0 4 0 ( in te rn a l q u o ta tio n m a rk s o m itte d ) ; id. at 1040- 41 (“N or do w e e xp ec ta j ud ge t o sel ec t i vel y c on si der e vi dence, i gn ori ng that e vi de nc e tha tc orr obor a t e s a n a l i e n’ s c l a i m s a nd c a l l s i nt o que s t i on the c onc l us i on th e ju d g e is a tte m p tin g to r e a c h .” ( quot i ng Shah v . A t t ’ yG e n. of U . S. , 446 F . 3d 42 9, 43 7 (3d C i r. 20 06 )) ). A . A l l eged In con si st en ci es 1 . T h e f

ir s t in c o n s is te n c y c ite d b y th e I Jc o n c e rn s h o w lo n g it to o kK u m a rto i de nt i f y , a s m i l i t a nt s , the thr e e m e n w ho c a m e t o hi s hom e . W e f i nd the r e t o be no i ncon si st encyi n K um ar ’ s t es t i m on y. O n d i re ctexam i nat i on , K um art es t i fi ed that w hi l e the m en di d n oti dent i fythem se l ves a s m i l i t ant s, he “ gathere d” thatthey w e r e “ f r om the i ra tt i r e . ” H e w a s nota s ke d w he n h e c a m e to th a t c o n c lu s io n . N o th in g in th e r e c o r d in d ic a te s th a t K u m a re v e n s a w th e m e n w h o e n te r e d h is ho m e unt i l “ af

t erabou tfi ve m i nu t es ” of the i rarr i v al , w hi c h i s e nt i r e l y c ons i s t e nt w i th K um ar ’ s e ar l i ert es t i m on y thathe di d n oti m m edi at el y s ee the m i l i t ant s w hen they f i rs tent er ed the ho use. B ec ause K um arnever t es t i fi ed thathe saw the m en “a t th e m o m e n t th a t th e y e n te r e d th e h o u s e ,” th e r e is n o th in g in c o n s is te n t in K um a r ’ s t e s t i m ony a s t o w he n he f i r s ti de nt i f

i e d the m a s m i l i t a nt s . I n a ddi t i on, the IJcoul d n otprop er l y bas e an adv er se det erm i nat i on on the al l eged i ncon si st enci es4

b e c au s e s h e d id n o t g iv e K u m a ra n o p p o rtu n ityto r e c o n c ile th e m . Se e So to - O la r te v. H older , 5 5 5 F .3 d 1 0 8 9 , 1 0 9 2 ( 9 th C ir . 2 0 0 9 ) . 2. W i th res pectt o the se cond al l eged i ncon si st ency , K um arnever t es t i fi ed that the tu rb a n s w e r e e ith e rg o ld o ry e llo w . R a th e r , w h e n a s k e d w h a t th e m ilita n ts

“ l oo k[ed] l i ke, ” he s t at ed, “ If you l oo k atthem , they w er e usi ng ye l l ow fabri c. ” W hen asked speci fi ca l l y t o d es cr i be the m en’ s turbans or pat akas , he desc ri bed them on l y a s bl ac k. F urtherm ore, fol l ow i ng the i nt erpret er ’ s r equest , K um ar i m m e di a t e l y c l a r i f

i e d hi s t e s t i m ony ; t e s t i m ony tha tthe I Jl a t e rde t e rm i ne d t o be

“ re l at i vel y det ai l ed and speci fi c. ” Se e S i dh u v . I NS , 22 0 F . 3d 10 85 , 10 89 (9th C i r. 2 0 0 0 ) ( r e je c tin g a d v e r s e c r e d ib ilityd e te rm in a tio n w h e r e p e titio n e rim m e d ia te ly c la r if ie d h is te s tim o n y to e x p la in a n y d is c r e p a n c y a n d o th e rw is e te s tif ie d w ith

“ grea tspec i fi ci ty” ). In l i gh tof hi s c on t i nu ed i nsi st ence thatthe pat akas w er e bl a c k, a nd tha tnow he r e i n hi s t e s t i m ony di d he e ve rde s c r i be the m a s a ny thi ng but bl a c k, s ubs t a nt i a l e vi de nc e doe s nots upportthe I J ’ s f i ndi ng tha thi s t e s t i m ony on th is is s u e w a s in c o n s is te n t. 3 . A s to th e th ird alleg ed in co n sisten cy , th e I J f irst n o ted th at K u m ar ’s de c l a r a t i on “ s tr ongl y i m pl i e s ” ac onne c t i on be tw e e n the a tt a c k on pa r l i a m e nta nd the prob l em s hi s f

am i l y began t o exp er i ence . Y et , ac cordi ng t o the IJ , K um ar deni ed any s uch con nect i on i n h i s t es t i m on y w hen l at erexpl ai ni ng w hy the po l i ceK um a r ’ s a s y l um appl i c a t i on i ndi c a t e s tha the i s s e e ki ng a s y l um ba s e d on 1 r e l i gi on, butc ouns e l be f or e the I J appe a r s t o ha ve a r gue d tha ta tl e a s ta n a l t e rna t i ve g r o u n d f o rg r a n tin g r e lie f

w o u ld h a v e b e e n “im p u te d p o litic a l o p in io n .”

5 re l ea se d h i m and w hy he w as no tarre st ed un t i l a y ear and a hal f l at er . H ow ever , the IJappears t o h ave m i si nt erpret ed K um ar ’ s c l ai m and h i s t es t i m on y. K um ar ne ve rc l a i m e d t o ha ve a ny a f f i l i a t i on w i th S i kh m i l i t a nt s . H e ne ve rc l a i m e d t o be a m ong thos e m i l i t a nt s w ho c a rr i e d outthe a tt a c k, nordi d he ha ve a ny i de aw hy S ik h m ilita n ts c a m e to h is h o u s e o n D e c e m b e r1 5 , a s id e f r o m d e m a n d in g th a t h is fa m i l y provi de food and con ce al a bag. L i kew i se , i n h i s t es t i m on y, he di sc l ai m ed havi ng any c on nect i on t o the att ac k o n p ar l i am ent , as i de fr om no t i ng thatthe att ac k on pa r l i a m e ntpr ovi de d apos s i bl e e xpl a na t i on f orw hy S i kh m i l i t a nt s m i ghtha ve arriv ed at h is h o m e tw o d ay s later . T h o u g h itis n o t en ti re ly clea r w h eth erK u m ar ’s c l a i m i s ba s e d on r e l i gi on ori m put e d pol i t i c a l opi ni on, hi s c ouns e l s ubm i t s i ti s the l att er . T here fore , i tw ou l d n otbe i ncon si st entfor h i m t o di s c l a i m a ny c onne c t i on

1 w i th the grou p, w hi l e m ai nt ai ni ng thatthe gov e rnm e nt be l i e v e d hi m t o be aS i kh m ilita n t. Se e Kum ar , 44 4 F . 3d at10 54 (“ an appl i cantcan est abl i sh i m pu t ed po l i t i ca l op i ni on base d u po n the pers ec utor’s erroneou s bel i ef as to th e ap p li ca n t’ s pol i t i c a l a f

f i l i a t i on oropi ni on” ( e m pha s i s a dde d) ) . N ow he r e di d K um a rc l a i m a ny d i rectco n n ect i o n t o su ch an att ack , b eyo n d h i s o w n st atu s as a S i k h . T h u s,6

s ubs t a nt i a l e vi de nc e doe s nots upportthe I J ’ s a dve r s e c r e di bi l i ty de t e rm i na t i on on thi s i ss ue. 4. F ou rth, ac cordi ng t o the B IA , K um arcl ai m ed i n h i s dec l ar at i on that m i l i t a nt s l e f

ttw o ba gs a thi s f

a the r ’ s s t or e , w hi l e he t e s t i f i e d tha tthe y l e f

tonl y one b a g . T h e I Jc o n s id e r e d a n y d is c r e p a n c y to b e “m in o r ” a n d “n o t s ig n if ic a n t.” H o w ev er , th er e is n o in co n sisten cy at all. W h il e th e B IA d es cr ib ed K u m ar ’s de c l a r a t i on a s “ c l a i m [ i ng] m i l i t a nt s ha d l e f ttw o ba gs a thi s f

a the r ’ s s t or e , ” the de c l a r a t i on s t a t e s tha tthe tw o m e n “ re qu es ted m e i f I c oul d ke e p thi s ba g a nd the other bag w hi ch they w er e c arry i ng w i th them because they w ant ed t o g o an eat som ethi ng , ” ( em ph as i s a dd ed), bu tcont i nu es , “ I keptthei r bag i n the s t or a ge a nd s ta rte d a tte n d in g m y o th e rc u s to m e r s .” T he I Jw a s c orr e c ti n c ha r a c t e r i z i ng a ny a lle g e d in c o n s is te n c y a s in s ig n if ic a n t in lig h t o f

K u m a r ’s s u b s e q u e n t e x p la n a tio n . Se e Shr e s tha , 59 0 F . 3d at10 44 (I J s ho ul d con si der pet i t i on er ’ s e xp l anat i on for a pe r c e i ve d i nc ons i s t e nc y ) . T he B I A ’ s c ontr a ry f i ndi ng i s nots upport e d by s u b s ta n tia l e v id e n c e . B . A l l eged Im p l au si b i l i ti es 1. F i r s t , the I Jc ons i de r e d K um a r ’ s de s c r i pt i on of hi s f i r s ta rr e s ta nd s u b s e q u e n t r e le a s e to b e im p lau s ib le . T h e I Js ta te d : “T h e C o u rt f in d s it im p lau s ib le to b e lie v e th a t i f the po l i ce re al l

y f ou ndw eapo ns athis hom e, tha ts oon7

a f t e ra n a tt a c k on pa r l i a m e nt , the y w oul d ha ve r e l e a s e d the r e s ponde ntm e r e l y f or g iv in g ab r ib e , b e lie v in g h im to a c tu a llyb e s u p p o rtin g m ilita n ts .” R ather, the IJ foun d m ore pl ausi bl e “ thatthe po l i ce re l ea se d the re spon dentand h i s f ather because they w er e not

s us pe c t e d of

ha vi ng a ny c onne c t i on w i th the a tt a c k on p a r lia m e n t o rth e w e ap o n s th a t w e r e p r e s u m ab lyf o u n d a t th e irh o u s e .” H ow ever , K um art es t i fi ed se vera l t i m es , and st at ed i n h i s dec l ar at i on , thatthe po l i ce never show ed K um arw hatw as i nsi de the bag sei ze d from hi s hom e, bu tra ther pol i ce clai m ed th at th e b ag co n tain ed w eap o n s. T h u s, th e I J’s d eter m in atio n th at K u m ar ’s t es t i m on y w as i m pl ausi bl e hi ng es on an “ as sum pt i on ” thatcontra di ct s s ub st ant i al e v id e n c e in th e r e c o r d . Se e S i n g h v . I NS , 292 F . 3d 1017, 1024 ( 9th C i r . 2002) ( r e j e c t i ng B oa r d’ s i m pl aus i bi l i ty f i ndi ng tha tw a s ba s e d on a n “ a s s um pt i on” r e f ut e d by r e c or d e vi de nc e ) . I n a ddi t i on, “ the I J ’ s a s s um pt i ons aboutw ha tthe m ot i ve s of

the pol i c e s houl d ha ve be e n . . . a r e the s ortof c onj e c tur e a nd spec ul at i on thatcann otbe used t o sup po rtan advers e c re di bi l i ty det erm i nat i on . ” I d. O n th e o th e rh a n d , th e s to ry th a t th e I Jf o u n d to b e p lau s ib le is e n tir e ly consi st entw i th K um ar ’ s t es t i m on y. T hu s, subst ant i al evi dence does notsupp ort th e I J ’s d e te rm in a tio n . 2. N e xt , the I Jf

ound the de t a i l s s urr oundi ng K um a r ’ s s e c ond a rr e s tt o be i m pl ausi bl e. R ather than add re ss i ng K um ar ’ s e xp l anat i on thati tw as cust om ary8

pr a c t i c e f

ors hopke e pe r s t o be ha ve j us ta s K um a rha d, the I Js t a t e d onl y tha t“ the C o u rtd o e s n o tb e l i e v e th i s ap l au s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n u n d e rth e r e s p o n d e n t ’ s o wn c ir c u m s ta n c e s .” T he I Jdi d notgi ve a ny s pe c i f i c orc oge ntr e a s ons a s t o w hy K um a r ’ s e xpl a na t i on w a s i m pl aus i bl e . H ow e ve r , “ [ a ] n a dve r s e c r e di bi l i ty f i ndi ng i s i m prop erw hen an IJ f ai l s t o add re ss a pet i t i on er ’ s e xp l anat i on for adi sc re pancy or i ncon si st ency . ” Ka u rv . A s h c r o ft , 3 7 9 F. 3 d 8 7 6 , 8 8 7 ( 9 th Ci r . 2 0 0 4 ) . “ To ig n o r e ap e titio n e r ’s e x p la n a tio n . . . a n d r e le v a n t r e c o r d e v id e n c e w o u ld b e to m a k e ac r e d ib ilityd e te rm in a tio n o n le s s th a n th e to ta l c ir c u m s ta n c e s in contra vent i on of the R E A L ID A ct ’ s t ext . ” Shr e s tha , 5 9 0 F .3 d a t 1 0 4 4 . A cc ordi ng l y, the IJ ’ s f

i nd i ng i s notsupp ort ed by subst ant i al evi dence. 3 . F in a lly , th e I Jf

o u n d im p lau s ib le K u m a r ’s e x p la n a tio n f o rn o t p r e s e n tin g h is C a n a d ia n a s y lu m ap p lic a tio n a lo n g w ith th e C a n a d ia n d e c is io n d e n y in g h is c la im . W hi l e the I Jnot e d tha tthe C a na di a n de c i s i on “ i s notr e qui r e d be c aus e i ti s not b e in g r e v ie w e db y th is C o u rt,” s h e c o n s id e r e d th e ap p lic a tio n to b e “h ig h ly rel ev an t ” as a ch ecko n K u m ar’ s cred i b i l i ty.

“ T he R E A L ID A ctchanged the st andard go verni ng w hen a tri erof fa ctm ay r e q u ir e c o rr o b o r a tin g e v id e n c e f r o m w h e r e th e e v id e n c e is ‘e a s ilya v a ilab le ’ to w here the evi dence i s ‘ re as on abl y obt ai nabl e[ . ] ’ ” I d. a t 1 0 4 7 . H o w e v e r , in e n a c tin g th e R E A L I D A c t’s n e w c o rr o b o r a tio n s ta n d a r d , C o n g r e s s m e a n t to9

i nc orpor a t e the B I A ’ s de c i s i on i n M at terof S-M-J , 21 I. & N . D ec . 72 2 (B IA 1 9 9 7 ) . See H . R . R e p. N o. 109- 72, a t166. I n S-M-J , th e B I A h e ld : [ W ]h e r e it is r e a s o n ab le to e x p e c t c o rr o b o r a tin g e v id e n c e f o rc e rta in al l eged fac t s pert ai ni ng t o the s p e c ific s o

f a n a p p lic a n t’s c la im , such e v id e n c e s h o u ld b e p r o v id e d . T h a t is , a n a s y lu m ap p lic a n t s h o u ld prov i de do cum ent ary s up po rtfor m a te r ia l fa c ts w h ic h a r e c e n tr a l to h is o rh e rc la im a n d e a s ilys u b je c t to v e r if

ic a tio n , s uc h as e v i de nc e of h is o r h er p la ce o

f b i rth , m ed i a a cco u n t

s o f la rg e dem o n stra t i o n s, e v i de nc e of

a publ i c l yhe ld of f i c e, ordoc um e ntat i on of m e di c al tr e atm e nt . . . . T he abse nce of such corr ob orat i ngev i dence can l ea d t o a fi nd i ng thatan appl i canthas f ai l ed t o m ee ther burden o f proof. 21 I. & N . D ec . at72 5-26 (e m ph as es added). T hi s i s c on si st entw i th o ur ca se l aw in te rp r e tin g th e p o s t- R E A L I D A c t s ta n d a r d . See A den v. H older , 589 F . 3d 1040, 10 43 -47 (9th C i r. 20 09 ) ( IJprop er l y r equi re d corrobo ra t i on of fa ct s thatw er e ce ntra l t o the appl i cant ’ s c l ai m ). T he type of

c orr obor a t i ng e vi de nc e di s c us s e d i n S-M-J a nd A den a nd c ont e m pl a t e d by C ongr e s s i n e na c t i ng the R E A L I D A c ti s e nt i r e l y di f f e r e ntf r om tha tw hi c h K um a rf

a i l e d t o pr ovi de . T o the c ontr a ry , K um a rs ubm i tt e d e xt e ns i ve c orr obor a t i ng e vi de nc e i nt o the r e c or d tha tde t a i l e d ge ne r a l c ountry c ondi t i ons agai nstw hi ch t o j ud ge K um ar ’ s c l ai m and focused on K um ar ’ s part i cul ar ci rc um st ance s. Indeed, throu gh ou tthe IJ ’ s dec i si on , i ti nd i ca t ed se vera l t i m es that K um a r ’ s c l a i m tha tc orruptpol i c e of f i c i a l s w oul d pl a ntw e apons on K um a ra nd thatthe m i l i t antconn ec t i on w as m er el y an excuse f or the po l i ce t o ext ortm on eyM oreover, even as sum i ng the C anadi an appl i ca t i on w as re l evantas a c heck 2 o n K u m a r ’s c r e d ib ility , h e p r o v id e d th e I Jw ith ac o p y o f th e d e c la r a tio n h e f

ile d in C an ad a, w h i ch w as co n si st en tw i th h i s U . S . d ecl arat i o n i n al l m at eri al resp ect s. 10 w as w el l -s up po rt ed by the backgrou nd do cum ent s. K um ar ’ s “ part i cul ar ci rc um st ance s” ar e a l so supp ort ed by other c orrobo ra t i ng evi dence, i n the form of a le tte rf r o m ad o c to rin I n d ia , a n d a f f id a v its f r o m lo c a l o f

f ic ia ls a n d f

a m ily m e m be r s . F i na l l y , w e not e tha tthe I Jne ve ra s ke d K um a rf orthe C a na di a n a s y l um appl i ca t i on , w hi ch i tconsi dere d t o b e “ hi gh l y r el evant . ” C on tra A den , 58 9 F . 3d at 1043. 2 T he r e f

or e , the I J ’ s a dve r s e c r e di bi l i ty de t e rm i na t i on i s nots upport e d by s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e . W e e x p r e s s n o o p i n i o n o n th e me r i t s o f K u ma r ’ s c l a i m, w hi c h the B oa r d di d notr e a c h. A cc ordi ng l y, w e G R A N T the pe t i t i on f orr e vi e w , a nd RE MAND for f urther p r o c e e d in g s to d e te rm in e w h e th e rth e p e titio n e ris e lig ib le f o rr e lie f .