FILED U.S. COURT OF AP P EALS E LEVEN T HC IRC U IT JUNE 27, 2007 THOMAS K. KAH

N CLERK [ DO NO T P UB L I S H] I N THE UN I TE D STATE S C OU RT OF APPE ALS F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C IR C U IT

________________________ N o. 06- 15294 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ B I A N o. A 79- 400- 388 X I A C H E N , P e titio n e r , v ersu s U .S . A T T O RN E Y G E N E R A L , R e s p o n d e n t.

________________________ P e t i t i on f orR e vi e w of

aD e c i s i on of

the B o a r d o f I m m ig r a tio n A p p e a ls

_________________________ ( Ju n e 27, 2007) B efo re B L A C K , M A R C U S an d W IL S O N , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M: X i aC he n, pr oc e e di ng p ro se , s e e ks r e vi e w of the B oa r d of

I m m i gr a t i on2

A pp ea l s’ (“ B IA ’ s” ) dec i si on , af fi rm i ng the Im m i grat i on Judg e’ s ( “ IJ ’ s” ) order de ny i ng he rappl i c a t i on f ora s y l um a nd w i thhol di ng of r e m ova l unde rthe I m m i gr a t i on a nd N a t i ona l i ty A c t( “ I N A ” ) , a nd r e l i e f unde rthe U ni t e d N a t i ons C onve nt i on A ga i ns tT ortur e a nd O the rC rue l , I nhum a ne orD e gr a di ng T r e a tm e nt o r P u n ish m en t (“C A T ”) . W e f in d th at w e lac kju risd icti o n to co n sid erC h en ’s cl ai m s of per se cut i on on the basi s of C hi na’ s f am i l y- pl anni ng po l i ci es , and that subst ant i al evi dence s up po rt s the IJ ’ s f i nd i ng thatshe w as no tpers ec ut ed for her p a r tic ip a tio n in F a lu n G o n g a c tiv itie s . A c c o r d in g ly , th e p e titio n is d is m is s e d in p a r t, a n d d e n ie d in p a rt. Ba c k g r o und C he n, ana t i ve a nd c i t i z e n of C hi na , a rr i ve d i n the U ni t e d S t a t e s on M a y 22, 2001 a nd r e que s t e d a s y l um a tthe a i rpor t . I n as w orn s t a t e m e nts ubm i tt e d a tthe ai rport , she a l l eged thatshe had been perse cut ed on the basi s of pol i t i cs , that som eone had tri ed t o rape her, and thatal tho ug h she re po rt ed the i nci dent , her as sa i l antw as no tpu ni shed. F urther, she a l l eged thatshe l ef tbecause s he w as a f r a i d tha ts he w oul d be f or c e d t o m a rry s om e one a ga i ns the rw i l l . A tas ubs e que nt as yl um i nt ervi ew , she e xp l ai ned thatshe w as bei ng threa t ened by a m an nam ed Ji n -X i n g , a p o w erfu l b u si n essm an w i th an u n cl e w h o w o rk ed fo r th e C h i n ese go vernm ent , because s he had refuse d t o m arryhi m . S he cl ai m ed thathe had3

b e a te n h e rb r o th e ra n d h a d a tte m p te d to r ap e h e rin o r d e rto f o r c e h e rto m a rry h im . A tthi s s e c ond i nt e rvi e w , s he s t a t e d tha ts he ha d ne ve rbe e n de t a i ne d ora rr e s t e d f or a n y o th e rr e a s o n . B e f or e the I J , C he n r e que s t e d tha ts he be a l l ow e d t o a m e nd he ra s y l um appl i c a t i on, i n l i ghtof

the f a c ttha ts he ha d ac hi l d a f t e rf i l i ng, a nd w oul d now be subj ec tt o C hi na’ s one-c hi l d p ol i cy . T he IJgrant ed her r equest . S he then t es t i fi ed thatshe w as fr om a rural partof F uj i an prov i nce a nd thatshe and her brother w er e prac t i t i on er s of F al un G on g. S he cl ai m ed thatshe and her brother w er e arr es t ed w hi l e m edi t at i ng w i th o ther prac t i t i on er s. A tthe po l i ce st at i on , the chi ef of po l i ce de m a nde d tha ts he m a rry hi s s on, am a n na m e d C he n J i a n X i ng. A f t e rs he r e f

us e d, b o th s h e a n d h e rb r o th e rw e r e b e a te n . C h e n c la im e d th a t s h e w a s n e x t d e ta in e d in a s m al l ce l l , un t i l C hen Ji an X i ng t oo k h ert o an i nt errogat i on room and att em pt ed t o rape her. A kn ock o n the do or st op ped h i m , and h e l ef t , bu tthe chi ef

of po l i ce la te rr e tu rn e d a n d th r e a te n e d to im p r is o n h e ra n d h e rf a m ily if s h e d id n o t a g r e e to m arryhi s s on . S he agree d and w as re l ea se d from pri son. S he al l eged thatshe l at er com pl ai ned t o the autho ri t i es , bu tthey dec l i ned t o h elp h erbecause of C hen Ji an X in g ’s f a m ily c o n n e c tio n s . C h e n a d m itte d th a t s h e h a d n o t te s tif ie d to th e s e f

a c ts in h e rp r io rin te rv ie w s . H ow ever , she c l ai m ed thatshe had no tful l y und er st oo d the qu es t i on s s he w as4

a s ke d orw hy s he w a s be i ng i nt e rvi e w e d a nd ha d the r e f or e r e f r a i ne d f r om s a y i ng t oo m uch. S he al so al l eged thatshe w ant ed another c hi l d and thatshe f eare d that s h e w o u ld b e p r e v e n te d f r o m h a v in g o n e if

s h e w a s r e tu rn e d to C h in a . T h e IJ d en i ed C h en ’ s ap p l i cat i o n , fi n d i n g th atsh e w as n o tcred i b l e b ecau se there w er e s ever al i ncon si st enci es i n the i nform at i on she provi ded F urther, the IJ c onc l ude d tha te ve n i f

s he ha d be e n c r e di bl e , s he ha d note s t abl i s he d ane xus be tw e e n the a l l e ge d e ve nt s a nd he rF a l un G ong m e m be r s hi p, a s he rt e s t i m ony es t abl i shed thatthe threa t eni ng po l i ce m an w as on l y i nt er es t ed i n o bt ai ni ng her agre em entt o m arryhi s s on . A dd i t i on al l y, the IJfoun d thatC hen w as no tent i t l ed to r e lie f o n h e rf a m ily p la n n in g p e r s e c u tio n c la im , s in c e c o u n try r e p o r ts es t abl i shed thatthe on e c hi l d p ol i cyw as fa i rl y r el axed i n the ruralar ea s i n w hi ch C h en li v ed . C h en ap p ea led th is d ec isio n to th e B IA , arg u in g th at th e I J’s cr edi bi l i ty f

i nd i ng s w er e a gai nstthe w ei gh tof the evi dence. S he cl ai m ed that d is c r e p a n c ie s in h e rte s tim o n y w e r e th e r e s u lt o f a n x ie ty , a n d th a t s h e h a d c r e d ib ly t e s t i f i e d tha ts he w oul d be pe r s e c ut e d be c aus e of he rF a l un G ong a c t i vt i e s . T he B IA adop t ed and affi rm ed the IJ ’ s dec i si on , i ncl ud i ng hi s c re di bi l i ty f i nd i ng . C hen now s e e ks r e vi e w of

thi s de c i s i on.

S tan da rd of R ev iew W he n the B I A i s s ue s ade c i s i on, w e r e vi e w onl y tha tde c i s i on, e xc e ptt o the5

e x te n t th e B I A e x p r e s s ly a d o p ts th e I J ’s d e c is io n . A l N a jja rv . A s h c r o

ft , 257 F . 3d 1262, 1284 ( 11th C i r . 2001) . W e r e vi e w the I J a nd the B I A ’ s l e ga l de t e rm i na t i ons de nov o. D -Muhum e d v . U . S. A t t ’ y G e n. , 388 F . 3d 814, 817 ( 11th C i r . 2004) . T he IJ ’ s and B IA ’ s f

ac tual det erm i nat i on s are re vi ew ed un der the subst ant i al evi dence t es t , and w e “ m ustaf

fi rm the B IA ’ s dec i si on 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 on the re cord consi dere d as aw ho l e. ” Al N aj j ar , 2 5 7 F .3 da t 1 2 8 3 - 8 4 ( q u o ta tio n m a rk s o m itte d ) . L ik e w is e , ac r e d ib ility de t e rm i na t i on i s r e vi e w e d unde rthe s ubs t a nt i a l e vi de nc e t e s t , a nd “ [ w e ] m a y not s u b s titu te [ o u r ] ju d g m e n t f o rth a t o f th e B I A w ith r e s p e c t to c r e d ib ility f in d in g s .” D -M uh um ed , 388 F . 3d a t818. D is c u s s ion T o e s tab lis h e lig ib ility f o ra s y lu m , a n ap p lic a n t m u s t d e m o n s tr a te aw e llf o u n d e d f e a ro f p e r s e c u tio n o n a c c o u n t o f r a c e , r e lig io n , n a tio n a lity , m e m b e r s h ip i n apar t i c ul a rs oc i a l gr oup, o rp o l i t i c a l o p i n i o n . 8 U. S. C. § 1 1 0 1 ( a ) ( 4 2 ) ( A) . To q u a lif y f o rw ith h o ld in g o f

r e m o v a l u n d e rth e I N A , a n a lie n m u s t s h o w th a t it is m or e l i ke l y tha n nottha t , i f r e turne d t o he rc ountry , he rl i f e orf r e e dom w oul d be th r e a t e n e d o n a c c o u n to f o n e o f th e s a me p r o t e c t e d g r o u n d s . 8 U . S. C. § 1 2 3 1 ( b ) ( 3 ) . T h u s , a n ap p lic a n t w h o is u n ab le to m e e t th e s ta n d a r d f o ra s y lu m is a ls o u n ab le to m e e t th e m o r e s tr in g e n t s ta n d a r d f o rw ith h o ld in g o f

r e m o v a l.6

H ua ngv. U

. S. A t t ’yG en . , 429 F . 3d 1002, 1011 ( 11th C i r . 2005) ( pe rc ur i a m ) . F or C A T r e l i e f

, a n appl i c a ntm us t“ e s t abl i s h tha ti ti s m or e l i ke l y tha n nottha the or s h e w o u ld b e to rtu r e d if r e m o v e d to th e p r o p o s e d c o u n try o f r e m o v a l.” R eyesSanc hezv . U

. S. A t t ’ y . G e n. , 369 F . 3d 1239, 1242 ( 11th C i r . 2004) ( quot i ng 8 C .F .R . § 2 0 8 .1 6 ( c ) ( 2 ) ) . B e f o r e u s , C h e n a r g u e s th a t th e I J e rr e d in c o n c lu d in g th a t s h e w a s in e lig ib le for I N A or C A T re l i ef

on ac coun tof C hi na’ s f am i l y pl anni ng po l i ci es . H ow ever , i n h erappeal t o the B IA , she c hal l enged o nl y the IJ ’ s c re di bi l i ty f i nd i ng i nsofaras it r e la te d to h e rF a lu n G o n g p e r s e c u tio n c la im a n d d id n o t d is c u s s h e rs e p a r a te f a m i l y p l a n n i n g c l a i m . S i n c e th i s c l a i m wa s n o ta d m i n i s tr a t i v e l y e x h au s t e d , we l ackj u ri sd i ct i o n t o rev i ew i tan d acco rd i n g l y d i sm i ss th e p et i t i o n o n th ese g ro u n d s. 8 U .S .C . § 1 2 5 2 ( d ) ( 1 ) ; A m ay a-A r tunduaga v . U . S. A t t ’ y G e n. , 463 F . 3d 1247, 1250 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 6 ) . N e x t, C h e n a r g u e s th a t th e I J ’s ru lin g o n h e rF a lu n G o n g p e r s e c u tio n c la im is n o t s u p p o rte d b y s u b s ta n tia l e v id e n c e . T h e I J b a s e d th is d e c is io n , in p a r t, o n h is c o n c lu s io n th a t h e rte s tim o n y w a s n o t c r e d ib le . “[ A ]n a d v e r s e c r e d ib ility de t e rm i na t i on a l one m a y be s uf f i c i e ntt o s uppor tthe de ni a l of a n a s y l um appl i c a t i on” w he n the r e i s no othe re vi de nc e of pe r s e c ut i on. Forgu e v . U . S. A t t ’y G e n. , 401 F . 3d 1282, 1287 ( 11th C i r . 2005) ( c i t a t i ons om i tt e d) . I ndi c a t i ons of7

r e l i abl e t e s t i m ony i nc l ude c ons i s t e nc y on di r e c te xa m i na t i on, c ons i s t e nc y w i th the w r itte n ap p lic a tio n , a n d th e ab s e n c e o f e m b e llis h m e n t a s th e ap p lic a n t r e p e a te d ly r e c o u n ts h is s to ry . R ui

zv . U . S. A t t ’ y G e n. , 440 F . 3d 1247, 1255 ( 11th C i r . 2006) ( p e rc u r ia m ) ; s e e al

s o D al i de v . U

. S. A t torne

y G e n. , 38 7 F . 3d 13 35 , 13 43 (11th C i r. 20 04 ) ( af fi rm i ng the B IA ’ s a dv er se cr edi bi l i ty det erm i nat i on , w hi ch w as base d u p o n its f

in d in g th a t th e ap p lic a n t’s te s tim o n y c o n f lic te d w ith h is a n s w e r s to in te rr o g a to r ie s , a f

f id a v it, d e p o s itio n , a n d o th e rd o c u m e n ta ry e v id e n c e ) . H er e, there w er e s ever al m at er i al i ncon si st enci es i n C hen’ s t es t i m on y bef ore the I J a nd he re a r l i e ri nt e rvi e w s , na m e l y ( 1) he rf a i l ur e t o m e nt i on he rF a l un G ong m em bers hi p p ri or t o the heari ng before the IJ ; (2) herearl i erst at em entthatshe had never been arre st ed or det ai ned, as com pare d t o h erl at eras se rt i on thatshe w as a rr e s t e d w hi l e m e di t a t i ng; ( 3) he ri ni t i a l s t a t e m e nttha tonl y he rbr othe rw a s be a t e n, a nd he rl a t e rt e s t i m ony tha ts he w a s be a t e n a s w e l l ; a nd ( 4) i nc ons i s t e nc i e s i n the na m e of the m a n w ho thr e a t e ne d he ra nd hi s r e l a t i ons hi p w i th gove rnm e nt o ffi ci al s. A s su ch , th ere i s su b st an t i al ev i d en ce su p p o rt i n g th e IJ’ s ad v erse c r e di bi l i ty f

i ndi ng. F urthe r , a l though C he n pr e s e nt e d c ountry r e por t s doc um e nt i ng the tr e a tm e ntof

F a l un G ong m e m be r s ge ne r a l l y , s he pr e s e nt e d no e vi de nc e be y ond h e rin c r e d ib le te s tim o n y th a t s h e w a s p e r s e c u te d . Se e For gue , 401 F . 3d a t1287 ( n o tin g th a t a n a d v e r s e c r e d ib ility d e te rm in a tio n d o e s n o t a lle v ia te th e I J ’s d u ty to8

consi der other e vi dence produ ce d b y the as yl um appl i cant ). T hu s, w e c anno tsay tha tthe I J e rr e d i n f

i ndi ng tha tC he n f

a i l e d t o de m ons tr a t e e l i gi bi l i ty f orI N A or C A T r e lie f

. A c c o r d in g ly , w e d is m is s th e p e titio n in p a r t, a n d d e n y th e p e titio n in p a r t. P E T I T I ON DI S MI S S E D I N P AR T , DE NI E D I N P AR T