2006 D e c i sion s O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit 5-15-2006 

# G aie v . Atty Ge n U SA P r e c e de nt i al or N on-P r e c e de nt i al : N on-P r e c e de nt i al D ocke t N o . 04-4237

F o llow thi s and a dd it ion al work s at : http://d i git alc ommon s .l a w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2006

Thi s de c i sion i s br ou ght t o you for f r e e and ope n a c c e s s b y the O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit at V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

w Di git al Reposit ory

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w Di git al Reposit ory

. F or mor e inform at ion, p le as e c ont a ct Be n j amin . C arl s on@l a

w . vi ll anova . e du . Re c omme nde d C it at ion
" G aie v . Atty Ge n U SA" (2006). 2006 D e cisio n s . P ape r 1112. http://d i git alc ommon s .l a

w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2006/1112H on. A ni t a B . B r ody , U ni t ed St at es D i s tr i ctC our tforthe * E as t ern D i s tr i ctof Penns y l vani a, s i t t i ng bydes i gnat i on. NOT P RE CE DE NT I AL U N I TED STA TES C O U RT O F A PPEA LS F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT

N os. 

### 04- 4237 and 

### 05- 2121

L E A V IV IA N E G A IE Pet i t i oner

v. A TTO RN EY G EN ER A L O F TH E U N I TED STA TES

R es pondent

Pet i t i on forR evi ew of an O r der o f th e B o a rd o f

Im m ig ra tio n A p p e a ls ( A 96- 248- 534) I m m i gr at i on J udge: H enryS. D ogi n A r gued February28, 2006 B efor e: SL O V I T E R , FU E N T E S, C i r cui tJ udges , and B R O D Y , D i s tr i ctJ udge * ( Fi l ed: M ay15, 2006)2

J os eph C . H ohens t ei n ( A r gued) O r l ow & O r l ow 620 C hes tnutSt r eet Sui t e 656 Phi l adel phi a, PA l 9l 06 A t t orneyforPet i t i oner J ames B. C l ark, I I I ( A r gued) O ffi ce of U ni t ed St at es A t t orney 970 B r oad Str eet R oom 700 N ew ark, N J 07102 J onathan Pot t er U ni t ed St at es D epart m entof J us t i ce O ffi ce of I m m i gr at i on L i t i gat i on B en Fr ankl i n St at i on P. O . B ox 878, C i vi l D i vi s i on W as hi ngt on, D C 20044 A t t orney s forR es pondent OP I NI ON SL O V I T E R , C i r cui tJ udge. I. Pet i t i oner , L ea V i vi ane G ai e, i s a nat i ve and c i t i zen of C ôt e d’ I voi r e. O n A pr i l 27, 2 0 0 2 , sh e e n ter e d th e U n ited S tate s o n a n o n -im m ig ra n t b u sin e ss v isa w ith p e rm iss io n to r emai n forthr ee mont hs . A l though tr ai ned as a nur s e, G ai e ent er ed thi s countrys eeki ng t o pur chas e el ectr oni c equi pm entforr e- s al e i n C ôt e d’ I voi r e. G ai e appl i ed foran ext ens i on of hervi s a butl at erchos e nott o pur s ue thatappl i cat i on and over s t ay ed w i t hout author i zat i on. She conce ded r emovabi l i tybefor e an I m m i gr at i on J udge ( I J ) , and appl i ed3

fo r asy lum , w ith h o lding o f re m o v al, an d reli ef u n d er the C o n v en ti o n A g ains t T o rtu re (C A T ). G a ie’ s c laim s f

o r re lief f ro m re m o v a l ar ise o u t o f th e re c e n t p o lit ica l tu rm o il i n C ôte d’ Ivoi re. T his cou rthas sum m ari zed the pert i nen tcou ntrycon dit i on s as fol l ow s:

In D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 9 , a g ro u p o f “ a rm ym u tin e e rs” lo y a l to G ener al R obertG uéi l ed a c oup thatoverthr ew Pr es i dent K onan B édi é. I n a pr es i dent i al el ect i on hel d the fol l ow i ng y ear , the I vor i an Supr eme C our tdi s qual i fi ed al l of the l eadi ng candi dat es exce ptforG uéi and G bagbo. A l though G bagbo w o n 5 1 .9 p e rc e n t o f

th e v o te , c o m p a re d to G u é i's 2 8 .7 per cent , G uéi cl ai m ed vi ct ory . G uéi ’ s att empt ed pow ergr ab tr i gger ed a popul arupr i s i ng. G bagbo w as then dec l ar ed the w i nnerof the el ect i on, butthatr es ul tw as cont es t ed by f o l l o we r s o f

Al a s s a n e Dr a ma n e Ou a t t a r a , a f o r me rp r i me m i ni s t er . A r m ed cl as hes began i n w hi ch the governm ent arm yan d su p p o rt ers o f G b ag b o ' s p arty , the F ron t Po p u lai re I voi r i en, w er e al l i ed aga i ns tO uatt ar a s uppor t er s . I n 2001 and 2 0 0 2 , the v ariou s fa cti o n s ap p ea red to m ak e p rog ress tow ard re c o n c ili a tio n . L o c a l ele c tio n s w e re h e ld w ith o u t in c id e n t, and B édi é, O uatt ar a, and G uéi t ook parti n a forum of nat i onal r econc i l i at i on. T he ec onom ys eemed t o be r ecove r i ng, and a governm entof nat i onal uni tyw as form ed. T he s i tuat i on change d s uddenl yon Sept ember19, 2 0 0 2 , w h e n ju n io r o f

f ice rs w h o h a d o n c e b e e n a f f ili a ted w ith G uéi m ut i ni ed i n t hr ee I vor i an ci t i es : A bi dj an, K orhogo, and B ouake. . . . D ur i ng the vi ol ence i n A bi dj an, G uéi w as ki l l ed, al l egedl ybygovernm entas s as s i ns . T her e w er e al s o ki l l i ngs oratt empt ed ki l l i ngs of otherpol i t i cal l eade r s . T he g o v e rn m e n t su p p re ss e d th e m u tin yin A b id jan , b u t th e re b e ls s oon s ei zed the northern hal f of the country . A ccor di ng t o the St at e D epart m ent ’ s 2003 C ountryR eporton C ôt e d' I voi r e, “ [ t]h e f a iled c o u p a ttem p t an d o n g o in g re b e lli o n q u ick ly e sc a late d in to th e c o u n try ' s w o rst c risis s in c e in d e p e n d e n c e in 1960. ” B oth t he r ebel s and the governm ent , i ncl udi ng the gen darm es, com m i t t ed ram pan thu m an ri gh t s abuses.A lth o u g h G a ie te s tif ie d th a t G e n e ra l G u é i w a s h e r “ u n c le ,” 1 s he expl ai ned the fami l y r el at i ons hi p bynot i ng thatG ener al G uéi and her father w er e “cous i ns . ” A pp. at125, 144- 45. I n heras y l um ap p li ca ti o n , G aie stated , “I b eli ev e m yfa ther a n d G en . G u [é ]i are actual l y cous i ns , as r el at i ons ar e count ed i n A m er i ca, buti n A fr i ca, th e y w o u ld b e c o u n ted a s b ro th e rs, a n d I w o u ld b e c o u n ted a s h is n ie c e .” A p p . a t 2 3 9 . 4 K o n an v . A tt ’yG en . , 4 3 2 F . 3 d 4 9 7 , 4 9 9 (3d C ir . 2 0 0 5 ) (fo o tno te om itted). G aie m ak es n o claim o f p ast p erse cu ti o n , b u t she fe ars retu rnin g to C ô te d’Iv o ir e d u e to th e v iolen ce o f S ep tem b er 2 0 0 2 an d it s af term ath. G aie a sserts th at G en era l R o b ert G uéi , the one- t i m e mi l i t aryrul erof C ôt e d’ I voi r e w ho w as m ur der ed i n Sept ember2002, w as her“uncl e. ” G ener al G uéi al l egedl yhad hel ped G ai e byr ecomm endi ng her 1 admi s s i on t o nur s i ng s chool . O n Sept ember28, 2002, G ai e al s o l earned thatthe fa therof her tw o ch i l dren, Jean T i se, w as m urdered, al l eged l yby“rebel s” w ho beli eved that Tis e w as r el at ed t o G ener al G uéi . G ai e’ s m otherfl ed t o G ui nea w i th G ai e’ s tw o chi l dr en f o llo w in g th e v io len c e o f S e p tem b e r 2 0 0 2 b u t h a s s in c e re tu rn e d w ith th e c h ild re n to C ô te d ’Iv o ire . G a ie’ s f

a th e r, M a th ias , w h o is n o t m a rrie d to G a ie’ s m o th e r, is a lleg e d lyin hi di ng i n the ci tyof A bi dj an. M athi as ’ s hous e w as r ans acke d as a r es ul tof the dea th of G ener al G uéi . G ai e’ s cous i n, A nt oi nett e R obert s , appea r ed as a w i tnes s i n the hea r i ng befor e the I J and t es t i fi ed t o t he al l eged f ami l yt i e t o G ener al G uéi . G ai e cl ai m s thats he fea r s futur e per s ecut i on, ei therbygovernm entfor ces orbythe r ebel s , on acc ountof her f a m ilia l r e la tio n s h ip to G e n e ra l G u é i a n d b e c a u s e o f th e m u rd e r o f

J e a n T is e . T h e IJ d e n ied G a ie’ s a p p lica tio n s f o r re lief , n o tin g p rim a rilyth a t G a ie f a iled to5

corr obor at e the t es t i m onyr egar di ng heral l eged r el at i ons hi p t o G ener al G uéi . A m ong o ther thin g s, the IJ o b serv ed that G aie’s last na m e is sp ell ed G -A -I- E w h il e the G en era l’ s n a me wa s s p e l l e d G- U- E - I a n d h e rf a th e rM a th i a s ’ s n a me i s s p e l l e d b o th G- A- I - E a n d GU - E - Y - E . W i th no document at i on l i nki ng M athi as t o G ener al G uéi , the I J w as u n co n v ince d that the c lai m ed relati o n sh ip ex ist ed . E v en assu m ing a re lat ion sh ip, th e IJ w as unconvi nced thatG ai e w oul d be per s ecut ed as a r es ul t , orthatG ai e’ s t es t i m onyw as cr edi bl e. T he I J found “i nexpl i cabl e” G ai e’ s fai l ur e t o m ent i on J ean Ti s e’ s m ur deri n her as y l um appl i cat i on. G ai e al s o fai l ed t o m ent i on herm other ’ s exodus t o G ui nea orthather f a th e r w a s in h id in g . T h e IJ o b se rv e d th a t G a ie h a s re lativ e s in C ô te d ’Iv o ire w h o re m a in unharm ed, and thatG ai e fa i l ed t o es t abl i s h how and w hyG ener al G uéi w as ki l l ed, th e re b yu n d e rm in in g h e r c la im th a t s h e w o u ld b e a t r is k . O n O ct ober5, 2004, the B I A s um m ar i l yaff i r m ed the I J ’ s deci s i on. G ai e fi l ed a t i m el ypeti t i on for r eview , w hich this cou rtdo cketed as C . A . N o. 04 -4237 . G ai e al so f iled a m o tio n to re c o n sid e r w ith th e B IA in w h ich sh e a rg u e d th a t th e IJ f a iled to cons i derherexpl anat i ons forthe omi s s i ons i n herappl i cat i on, expec t ed corr obor at i on t hat w o u ld h a v e b e e n d if

f ic u lt to o b ta in , a n d ig n o re d p ro b le m s in tr a n s la tio n a t th e h e a ri n g . O n M a rc h 9 , 2 0 0 5 , the B IA re jec ted th e m o tio n to re c o n sid e r, co n c lu d in g th a t G a ie s oughtt o r ei t er at e ar gum ent s m ade on he rappea l . G ai e’ s t i m el ypet i t i on forr evi ew fr om thator derw as docket ed as C . A . N o. 05- 2121. W e have cons ol i dat ed the pet i t i ons for r evi ew fordi s pos i t i on.T he B I A has i nterpre t ed “pa r t i cul ars oci al gr oup” as 2 i ncl udi ng ki ns hi p t i es . See Fat i n v. I N S, 12 F. 3 d 1 2 3 3 , 1 239- 40 (3d C ir . 1 9 9 3 ). 6 II. T hi s courthas j ur i s di ct i on under8 U . S. C . § 1252( a) ( 1) . B eca us e the B I A aff i r m ed th e f in a l o rd e r o f

re m o v a l w ith o u t a n yin d e p e n d e n t a n a lysis , w e re v ie w th e IJ ’s d e c is io n . X i e v. A s hcr oft , 359 F. 3d 239, 242 ( 3d C i r . 2004) . O urr evi ew i s conduct ed underthe defe r ent i al s ubs t ant i al evi dence s t andar d. C aus hi v. A t t ’ yG en. , 436 F. 3d 220, 225 ( 3d C ir. 2 0 0 6 ). W e m u st a c c e p t th e IJ’ s f in d in g s a s c o n c lu siv e “ u n les s a n yre a so n a b le ad jud icator w o u ld b e c o m p ell ed to co n clud e to th e c o n tr ary . ” 8 U . S . C . § 1 2 5 2 (b)(4 )(B ); s ee D i a v. A s hcr oft , 353 F. 3d 228, 249 ( 3d C i r . 2003) ( en banc ) ( “I f a r eas onabl e fa ct f in d e r c o u ld m a k e a p a rticu lar f in d in g o n th e a d m in istra tiv e re c o rd , the n th e f in d in g is su p p o rt ed b ysu b stan ti al ev iden ce . ”). T h e A tto rn e yG e n e ra l m a yg ra n t a s y lu m to a “ re f u g e e ,” 8 U .S .C . § 1 1 5 8 (b )( 1 ), a t erm defi ned i n r el evantpartas a per s on unabl e orunw i l l i ng t o r eturn t o the countryof thatper s on’ s nat i onal i tyorhabi tual r es i dence beca us e of “ a w el l - founded f earof p e r s e c u t i o n o n a c c o u n to f . . . me mb e r s h i p i n a p a r t i c u l a rs o c i a l g r o u p . ” 8 U. S . C. § 1101( a) ( 42) ( A ) . T he I J hel d t hatG ai e ca n be cons i der ed foras y l um as a mem berof a “part i cularsoci al group ” based on kinshi p to G eneral G uéi, bu tden i ed rel i ef be cause G ai e fa i l ed t o es t abl i s h herm ember s hi p i n thats oci al gr oup gi ven the abs ence of any evi dence t o corr obor at e hert es t i m onyr egar di ng the fa m i l i al r el at i ons hi p. 27

I n A bdul ai v. A s hcr oft , 239 F. 3d 542, 554 ( 3d C i r . 2001) , w e hel d thatan I J m ay re q u ire a n o th e rw ise c re d ib le a lien to su p p lyc o rro b o ra tin g e v id e n c e , b u t o n lyif it w o u ld be r eas onabl e t o expec tcorr obor at i on. A n al i en w ho fai l s t o i ntr oduce s uch evi dence , or t o offe ra s at i s fac t oryexpl anat i on forthe fa i l ur e, can be hel d t o have f ai l ed t o m eetthe b u rd e n o f

p ro o f. Id . at 5 5 1 . It i s re a so n a b le, f o r e x a m p le, to e x p e c t th e a lien to corr obor at e fa ct s centr al t o t he cl ai m and ea s i l ys ubj ectt o ver i fi cat i on. I d. at554. U nder the R E A L I D A ctof 2005, “[n] o courts hal l r ever s e a de t erm i nat i on m ade bya tr i erof f a c t w ith re s p e c t to th e a v a ila b ility o f c o rr o b o ra tin g e v id e n c e . . . u n le s s th e c o u rt f in d s . .

. thata r eas onabl e tr i erof fa cti s compel l ed t o concl ude thats uch corr obor at i ng evi dence is u n a v a ila b le .” 8 U .S .C . § 1 2 5 2 (b )( 4 ). G ai e’ s al l eged f

ami l i al r el at i ons hi p t o G ener al G uéi i s the corner s t one of he r a sy lu m c laim , an d w e se e n o e rro r in th e IJ h a v in g so u g h t re a so n a b lya v a ilab le corr obor at i on t o s uppor tG ai e’ s t es t i m onyon the s ubj ect . G ai e cont ends thatbeca us e of the ci vi l s tr i fe, i tw as unr eas onabl e t o expec tfami l ym ember s t o gatherbi r th r ecor ds or otheroffi ci al document at i on i n C ôt e d’ I voi r e. H ow ever , even i f w e as s um e the i m pos s i bi l i tyof pr ocur i ng governm ent - i s s ued document s , i tw as notunr eas onabl e fort he IJ to e x p e c t co rro b o ra tio n in th e f o rm o f a f f id a v its f ro m f a m ilym e m b e rs. T h e re c o rd is cl earthatG ai e has r emai ned i n cont actw i th herm others i nce the vi ol ence of Sept ember 2002; thats he has been i n cont actw i th herfather ; and thats he has r el at i ves , i ncl udi ng tw o o f her fat her’ s brothers, w ho m she cou l d att em pt t o co ntacti n F rance. N on e of those8

in d iv id u a ls p ro d u c e d a n a f f id a v it r e g a rd in g G a ie ’s a lle g e d re la tio n s h ip to G e n e ra l G u é i. W hen as ked atthe as y l um hear i ng w hethers he had doc um ent at i on t o es t abl i s h thather fatherw as r el at ed t o G ener al G uéi , G ai e r es ponded, “N o, beca us e w hen I came t o the U ni t ed St at es I di d not– I w as notthi nki ng i n t erm s of thatI w oul d be as ked that . ” A pp. at156. G ai e furthert es t i fi ed thats he had made no ef for tt o getdocument at i on fr om her r el at i ves i n Fr ance . M or eover , al though G ai e pr es ent ed the t es t i m onyof heral l eged c o u sin , A n to in e tte R o b e rts, th e IJ r e a so n a b lyd isc o u n ted th a t tes tim o n yb e c a u se R o b e rts fai l ed t o pr oduce a nydocument at i on t o es t abl i s h herow n i dent i tym uch l es s the exi s t ence o f a k insh ip ti e b etw ee n G aie a n d G en era l G u éi. W e f ind su b stan ti al ev iden ce to su p p o rt the I J ’ s fi ndi ng thatG ai e coul d have a nd s houl d have pr oduced c orr obor at i ng evi dence of h e r a lle g e d re la tio n s h ip to G e n e ra l G u é i. A ddi t i onal l y , the I J ques t i oned the truthful nes s of G ai e’ s t es t i m onygi ven the var i ous om i s s i ons of r el evantevi dence fr om heras y l um appl i cat i on. T he I J not ed, i nt er al i a, thatG ai e fa i l ed t o m ent i on i n herappl i cat i on the murde rof J ean Ti s e – an e vent up on w hich G ai e exp res sl yrel i ed at the h eari ng t o sup po rther cl ai m that s he fe ars a r eturn t o C ôt e d’ I voi r e. G ai e cont ends , as s he di d befor e the I J , thats he hones t l ybel i eved thatT i s e w as nota “f

ami l ym ember ” and thati nform at i on abouthi s death w as nonre sp o n siv e to th e q u e stio n p o se d in th e a sy lu m a p p lica tio n . S h e a lso c laim s th a t sh e d id notl earn thatT i s e w as ki l l ed ( as oppos ed t o m er el yki dnapped) unt i l j us tpr i ort o the as y l um hear i ng.9

G ai e compl et ed heras y l um appl i cat i on w i th the as s i s t ance of couns el , and the appl i cat i on ques t i on ati s s ue i s br oadl yw or ded: “H ave y ou, y ourfami l y , orcl os e fr i ends orcol l eague s everexper i ence d harm orm i s tr eatm entorthr eat s i n the pas tbyany one?” A pp. at239. T i s e, as the fa therof G ai e’ s tw o chi l dr en, cert ai nl yfi t s w i thi n the cl as s of peo ple cont em plat ed b ythe q uest i on . In addit i on , G ai e t est i fi ed thatshe l earned thatT i se had “di s appea r ed” i n Sept ember2002, w hi ch w as pr i ort o hercompl et i on of the appl i cat i on i n D ece m ber2002. T hus , w hi l e s he had noty etr ece i ved conf i r m at i on that T i s e w as dead ( a fa cts he al l egedl yl earned i n J une 2003) , G ai e ce r t ai nl ycoul d have in c lu d e d in f

o rm a tio n a b o u t T ise ’s d isa p p e a ra n c e in h e r a sy lu m a p p lica tio n , p a rticu lar ly beca us e s he cl ai m ed thatthe al l eged mi s tr eatm entof Ti s e bas ed on hi s per cei ved r el at i ons hi p t o G ener al G uéi w as a fa ct orbehi nd herfea rof r eturni ng t o C ôt e d’ I voi r e. G ai e s ugges t s that“tr ans l at i on and i nt erpr et at i on i s s ues ” atthe as y l um hear i ng m ayhave l i m i t ed the ext entt o w hi ch s he w as abl e t o expl ai n her s el f t o the I J . G ai e not es thathernat i ve l anguage i s K r ahn and thatheri nt erpr et erforthe pr ocee di ngs s poke Fr ench. G ai e s eems t o s ugges tthatpr obl ems w i th i nt erpr et at i on s houl d have c om pel l ed the I J , s ua s pont e, t o pos tpone the pr ocee di ngs unt i l a K r ahn i nt erpr et ercoul d be pr ovi ded. T hi s ar gum entl acks m er i t . G ai e t ol d the I J atthe out s etof the hea r i ng thats he spok e F rench, and w hen asked if she un derst oo d the French i nterpret er, she repl i ed, “Y es, w e u n d e rsta n d e a c h o th e r re a l g o o d .” A p p . at 1 1 7 . G a ie’ s c o u n se l ra ise d n o o b jec tio n to u se o f a F ren ch interpre ter, an d the IJ e x p resse d n o d ifficu ltyin u n d erstan d ing G aie’stes tim o n y . M o re o v e r, G a ie h a s f a iled to id e n tifyw h e re in th e re c o rd th e re is e v id e n c e to s how thats he w as m i s under s t ood orm i s i nt erpr et ed, and s he has notexpl ai ned how her tes tim o n yw o u ld h a v e b e e n d if f e re n t w e re it i n terp re ted f ro m K ra h n a s o p p o se d to F re n c h . In s u m , w e c o n c lu d e th a t s u b s ta n tia l e v id e n c e s u p p o rt s th e IJ ’s d e n ia l o f a s y lu m . G ai e’ s cl ai m forw i thhol di ng of r emoval w as al s o pr oper l yr ej ect ed, as i tr equi r ed an e ven gr eat ers how i ng t o w arr antr el i ef. See Senathi r aj ah v. I N S, 157 F. 3d 210, 215 ( 3d C i r . 1998) . G ai e’ s C A T cl ai m , w hi ch r equi r ed a s how i ng thati ti s m or e l i kel ythan not thats he w oul d be t or tur ed upon r eturn t o C ôt e d’ I voi r e, 8 C . F. R . § 1208. 16( c) ( 4) , w as p ro p e rlyre

jec ted , as G a ie p re d ica ted th e c laim u p o n h e r u n su b sta n tiate d re latio n sh ip to G ener al G uéi . M or eover , G ai e has w ai ved herC A T cl ai m byfai l i ng t o ar gue i ti n her a p p e l l a t e b r i e f. S e e L i e v . As h c r o f t , 3 9 6 F . 3 d 5 3 0 , 5 3 2 n . 1 ( 3 d Ci r . 2 0 0 5 ) . F i n a l l y , we n o te th a t G a ie m a k e s n o e x p re ss a rg u m e n t to c h a llen g e th e B IA ’s d e n ial o f h e r m o tio n to re c o n sid e r, an d th u s w e d e e m th a t issu e w a iv e d , as w e ll. III . F o rth e r e a s o n s s t a t e d , we wi l l d e n yth e p e t i t i o n s f o rr e v i e w.