T he Hon . Gregory Van T ate nho v e, Unite d Sta tes Dist ri c tJ udge for the Ea stern * Di str ic t of Kent ucky , s it ti ng by des ig nati on. In the a dmini strati v e record, t he pet it ion er ’s name is mis spel led “E dv art Kaci ci ,” but 1 it is cl ear f rom h is sig nat ure on v arious do cum ent s tha t his nam e is actu ally Edua rd Kaciqi. NO T RE CO MM EN DE D FO R FU LL -T EXTPU BL IC A TI ON Fi le N ame: 09a0688n .06 No . 08- 3893 UNITED STA

TES COURT OF A PPE A LS FO R TH E SI XTH C IR CU IT
ED UA RD KAC IQI , Pet itione r,
v. ER IC H . H OLD ER , J R. , Res pondent

. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ON PET IT ION FOR REVIEW FROM A FI NA L OR DE R OF THE BOAR D OF IM MI GRATION APP EALS

Before: BAT CHE L DER, C hie f Ci rc uitJu dg e, D AU GH TREY , C ircui t J udg e, an d VAN TATENH OVE, D is tr ic t J udg e. *
PER C UR IA M. Pet it io n e r Edu ard Ka ciqi is an Alban ian citiz en who ente red this 1 count ry i ll eg all y and now

se eks rev ie w o f

t h e Board of Immig ra ti on App eal s’ s d eci si on deny ing hi s p eti ti on for asy lum, w it hhol din g of re mov al, and re li ef under the Uni ted N ati ons Con v enti on Ag ain st Tortu re . Beca use w e concl ude that the Boa rd w as cor re ct in aff ir ming the imm igration judge’s ruling s thatKaciqi lacked credibility a nd tha t coun try

cond itions in Al bani a hav e c hang ed s u ch t h a t t he pet it ion er w oul d notreason abl y

be t hreatened w it h persec uti on upon retur n, w e deny rev iew

.No. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

2 Kaci q i, a na ti v e and ci ti z en of Al bani a, ar ri v ed in the Uni ted Stat es on Apr il 26, 2 002, at H oust on’ s i nt e r n a t i o n a l a i r p o rt , present ed a fraudul ent G re ek pass por t t o the i mmig ra ti on offi c er , an d w as ch arg ed as an i na dm i s s i bl e al i en u nd er 8 U .S .C

. § 12 25 ( b) ( 1)

. At th e ti me of entr y , he tol d the i mmig ra ti on officer thathi s reason s for

co ming to the U nit ed St ates
w ere prima rily

econ om ic: “I’m une mp loyed, my pare nts are une mp loyed, nob [o]d y w orks. There are no job s i n my count ry .” He deni ed that he feare d retur nin g to Al bani a butw as nev erthel ess prov ide d w it h a “ cre d ib le fear” i nter v iew a w eek lat er , atw hic h ti me he
c h a n ge d h is s t o ry, c la im in g t h a t h e h a d b e e n “b e a t e n , m is t re a t e d a n d d e t a in e d fo r 8 d a ys at t he end of Jan. 2001.” H e al so re por ted a sec ond ar re st around tw o w eeks after hi s first. In ad dit ion , he cl aimed that he w as ar re ste d for a thi rd ti me in June 2001 an d det ain ed for approx imat ely

tw o months after

hi s c ousi n, a candi date f o r m a yor, w as ki ll ed by g ov er nment offici als and K a ciqi d emanded t hat t he pol ic e i nv est ig ate. In re mov al proce edin gs in June 200 2 an d Octo ber 20 0 2 , h e a d m itted remo v ability und er 8 U.S.C. § 11 82(a )(6)(C )(i) and (a)(7)(A)(i)( I), b ut indicat ed tha t he inten ded t o ap ply for asyl um . He f ill ed outan a ppl ic ati on for asy lum dated Oct ober 23, 2002, but i t w as not s ig ned or submi tted at t hat t ime.
For reason s n ot apparent on the record, bu t per haps due t o a c hang e i n v enue, the peti ti oner ’s as y lum hear ing di d nottak e pl ace unti l June 5, 2 0 0 6

. Kac iq i’ s c omplet ed appl ic ati on, s ubmit ted o n the sa m e date, i ncl uded a family hi sto ry thatbeg an w it h the forme r Com mu nist gov ernm ent ’s purp orted conf iscation of his grand fath er’s land an d his father’ s b ir

th i n an int er nment camp. Kaci q i ind ic ated in his appl ic ati on th at he had w or kedNo. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

3 in Gre e ce and t ra v ele d bac k a nd fort h betw een G re ece and Al bani a betw een 199 7 and 1999, a per iod of s oci al and pol it ic al upheav al in Al bani a. He als o re por ted se rvin g one y ear i n the Al bani an ar my , after w hic h he pur por

tedl y join ed the Democrati c Party in 2001. He claime d tha t he w as hara ssed, a rrested, a nd threa ten ed w hile supp orting h is cousin’s campai g n for may or

of the v il lag e of

Zhep. He ass er

ted that the po li ce w ere i n l eag ue w it h the Socialist Party, then in power, an d tha t the Socialists op pose d his cousin ’s candid acy for ma y or beca use th e cou sin w as af f iliated w ith the De mo cratic Party. Af ter his cousin ’s all eg ed di sappe arance and murder , Ka ci q i cl aimed, he pre ss e d the pol ic e to inv est ig ate his cousin ’s deat h an d sup porte d the replacem entcand idate . Kaciqi a lso sw ore in his appl ic ati on th at s hots w er e fired i nto his house on sev eral occ asi ons, g iv ing ri se to hi s fear that the l ocal pol ic e forc e, s y mpatheti c t o the Soc ialist s, w oul d har m hi m if he w ere to
re tur n to Al bani a. But, des pit e his sw or n statement s i n the as y lum appl ic ati on, K aci q i’ s t est imony at the asy lum h earing co nf licted in several signif icant w ays w ith bot h his app lication a nd h is support in g d o cu m entar y ev ide nce. F or

ex ample, at the h ear ing he c lai med thathe h ad
ser v ed tw o months i n the Albani an army , nota y ear as hi s a ppl ic ati on s tated , and thathe
w as beaten w hil e i n pr is on t o t h e p o intof breaki ng hi s r ibs , a key deta il thatw as not include d in his w ritten applicatio n. He also cl aim ed at his hea ring tha t he did not sup port the n ew may oral candi date put forw ard by the Democ ra ts after his co usi n“ dis appeared,” cont ra dicti ng a ss erti ons in his appl ic ati on. In ad dit ion , Ka ci q i eq uiv ocat ed reg ardin g the date of his l astar re st, tes ti fyi ng i nit ial ly thathe w as arrest ed in Jul y 2001. But, after

bei ngNo. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

4 re minded that his asy lum appl ic ati on ind ic ated that the a rresttook pl ace in June 2001, he chang ed hi s t est imony

. W hen c onfronte d w it h a l etter w ri tten by his brother that pla ced the ti me of his ar re st in Jul y , he firs t s aid thathe made a mi sta ke on his asy lum appl ic ati on and tha t the a rrest t ook place in Ju ly

. He t hen ch anged h is testimo ny again, insisting thathis brother w as mis tak en abou t t he dat e and that he had act ual ly been ar re ste d i n J une.
W hen a sked a bou t the se incon sistencie s, Kaciqi ex plaine d tha t he was “ v ery nervous” and insisted th at th is w as the re ason w hy he ke pt cha nging the date of his last arrest. Que stione d abo ut his incon sistentanswers during his f irst immigration inte rv iew in Hou sto n, he sa id that he w as hung ry and ti re d w hen he to ld the o ff ic er he c ame i nto t he count ry bec ause of “ec onomy

probl ems” and that he omit ted infor mati on about his ar re sts in Alban ia beca use h e feare d be ing beate n and im prisone d by U .S. im migration o f f icers. The g ov er nment i ntroduce d Kac iq i’ s A lba nia n pas spor t, whic h f urther

undercut Kaciqi’s cl aim abo ut his a ll e ged arrest in the sum me r of 200 1. T he Alb ania n pa ssport cont aine d stam ps showing tha t he en tered Greece f rom Alb ania on May 9, 20 01, and did not l eav e Greece unti l Dec ember 25, 2001. C lea rl y , i f Kaci q i had bee n i n Greece betw een Ma y and Dec ember

2001, then he coul d not hav e been impr is oned i n Al bani a i n J une or Jul y of the s ame yea r. Kaciq i lat er cl aimed that he w as not i n Greece at al l in 2001 an d that h is b rother-i n- law must hav e us ed hi s p ass por t t o ent er

Greece w hil e he w as impr is oned. Kac iq i lat er obtai ned a w ri tten sta tement from hi s b ro ther-i n- law i n w hic h the brother-i n- law

cl aimed that he had used Kaci q i’ s p ass por t t o trav el betw een Albani a andNo. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

5 Greece in 2001. But thi s letter did not cor ro borate Kaci q i’ s tes ti mony that the b ro ther-i nlaw used the pa ssport while Kaciqi w as in prison. Instea d, the le tter said tha t the brothe rin-law used the p a s s p o rt “during the period thatEdua rd Agron Kaciqi lef t Alban ia,” f latly cont ra dicti ng Kac iq i’ s tes ti mony that he did not lea v e the count ry in 2001. Li ke many of the o th er

d oc um en ts s ub mi tt ed a t th e c ou rt he ar i ng , th e l et te r a l s o ha d an i mp roperly
cer ti fied transl ati on: t he transl ator had aff ix ed hi s ow n notar y seal to t he doc ument, ins tead of cer ti fyi ng thathe w as compet ent t o transl ate i t and hav ing hi s d e cla ra ti on not ar iz ed. Altho ugh the imm igration ju dge obse rv ed tha t a not aryis ordina rily n ot perm itted to atte st to hi s o r her

ow n s ig nature, s h e apparentl y al low ed th e doc uments to be fil ed w it h the
re cord.
In he r oral deci si on, t he i mmig ra ti on j udg e deni ed al l forms of reli ef to Kac iq i, noti ng
v arious inconsisten cies in the pet itione r’s testim ony, includin g several instance s in w hich Kaci q i chang ed his sto ry w hen c onfronte d w it h c onfli cti ng ev ide nce. Ka ci q i had produce d his uncle as a w itness; he test if ied regarding his forme r w ork as a police o f f icer in Korce
a n d h is ye a rl y t ri p s b a c kt o A lb a n ia

. T h e im m ig ra t io n ju d g e d is c o u n t e d h is t e s t im o n y, howev er, f inding it not credible due to his dem ean or w hile testif y ing and the pau ses in his
re spons es. She al so noted that count ry co ndi ti ons in Al bani a had chang ed and that the Dem ocra t ic P arty w as no w in power, l essen ing the possib ility thatKaciqi w ould face persec uti on bas ed on his pol it ic al bel iefs if he retur ned.No. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

6 Kaciqi filed a time ly

app eal t o t h e Boa rd of Imm igration Appe als. Th e Boa rd dis mis sed his appeal , findi ng thatthe immi g ra ti on j udg e’s credi bil ity as ses sment w as not cl ear ly er ro neous and that the i ncons is tenc ies i n the case w ere “sub sta nti al and go to the hear t of the re spond e n t’ s a sy lum cl aim, and hav e notbeen adeq uatel y ex pla ine d by

the respo nde nt.”
W hen the Board of Immig ra ti on App eal s h as ex pli ci tl y adopt ed th e i mmig ra ti on jud g e’s reason ing , w e review t he i mmig ra ti on j udg e’s dec is ion di re ctl y . See Huan g v. Mu kas ey , 523 F.3d 64 0, 649 (6t h Cir. 20 08). Find ings of fact m ust be uph eld if

they are suppo rt ed by“reason abl e, subs tanti al, and pro bati v e ev ide nce on th e record c onsi dered
as a w hole ,” IN S v

. El ias -Zacar

ias , 502 U .S. 478, 481 ( 1992) , and sh oul d notbe d is tur bed
on rev iew

“ unl ess any

reason a b le a d judic ator w oul d be compel led to conc lud e to the
c o n t ra r y .” 8 U

. S

. C. § 125 2(b)(4)(B). The dete rmina tion o f a petitio ner’s credibility is
cons ide re d a fin din g of fact. See Sy l la v. INS , 3 8 8 F.3 d 92 4, 92 5-26 (6th Cir. 2004 ). Subs eq uent to t he pas sag e of the RE AL I D Ac t o f 2 005, Pub. L. N o. 10 9- 113, 119 St at. 302, how ev er , w e no lon g er base credi bil ity deter minat ion s on i ss ues that g o onl y “ to t he hea rt of the ap pli c a n t ’s claim.” See Sylla , 388 F .3d a t 926

. Ins tead, for a ny appl ic ati on filed after

M ay 11, 2005, w e bas e c re dib ility d eter minat ion s o n the tot ali ty of the ci rc umstan ces “ w it hout re g ard to w hether an i ncons is tenc y , i nacc uracy , or fals ehood g oes to th e hea rt of the app licant’s claim, or any oth er relev antfacto r.” El-M ouss a v . Holder , 569 F. 3d 250, 256 (6 C ir . 200 9) ( ci ti ng 8 U .S.C . § 1158( b) (1 )( B) (i ii ))

. Si mil ar ly , an immi g ra ti on th judge’s conclu sion th at an app licant ha s or has notestab lished p ast pe rsecutio n or a w ell-No. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

7 founde d f e a r o f

f uture persec uti on i s a ls o a q uest ion of fact; t his co ncl usi on i s rev iew ed under the d e f e re n ti al “s ubst anti al ev ide nce” st andard. See El ias -Zacar

ias , 502 . U .S. at 481. A person seek ing asy lum bears t he burden of proof to es tabl is h hi s o r her st atus as a refugee. See 8 U.S .C . § 1158( b) (1 )( B) (i ). An as y lum appl ic ant’ s t est imony al one may an adeq uate basi s for

granti ng rel ief, but that testi mony mustbe b eli ev abl e, c onsi ste nt, and pla usi ble

. See 8 U .S.C . § 1158( b) (1 )( B) (i i) ; Al i v. Ashcro ft , 36 6 F

. 3 d 4 0 7, 41 1 (6th Cir. 2004)

. An immi g ra ti on jud g e may ar ri v e at a credi bil ity dete rmi nati on by

co nsi der ing an appl ic ant’ s c andor

or demeanor

as a w it ness , t he c onsi ste ncy betw een v ar iou s w ri tten and oral state me nts m ade bythe ap plicant , the plausib ility and consiste ncy of

the ap plicant ’s sta tements , and t h e c onsi ste ncy of the a ppl ic ant’ s s tatement s w it h oth er ev ide nce of
re cord, i ncl udi ng Sta te D epar tment Cou ntr

y R epor ts. See 8 U .S.C. § 1158( b) (1 )( B) (i ii ).
The credi bil ity

dete rmi nati on i s c ru ci al, be ca u se an appli cantw ho i s found n ot
credi ble ca nnot meet t he req uired burden o f proof in an as y lum cas e. See Hassan v. Gonz ale s , 403 F .3d 429, 435 (6th Ci r. 2005). Nor can an appl ic ant found not c re dib le meet the h ig her

“ cl ear probabi li ty ” sta ndard for w it hhol din g of re mov al or C AT r e lief

. See Ndr ecaj v. Mukas ey , 522 F .3d 667, 677 ( 6th C ir . 200 8)

. In c hal len g ing the immi g ra ti on jud g e’s deter minat ion that the p eti ti oner ’s tes ti mony
w as not w orthy

of credi t, Kaci q i cont ends that the c onfli cts betw een hi s t est imony and the document ar

y ev ide nce submi tted to suppo rt his cl aim w ere l imi ted t o mi nor i ncons is tenc iesNo. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

8 that did not g o to the h ear t of hi s c lai m and t hat h e prov ide d adeq uate ex pla nati ons for th e dis crepanc ies

. He al so ass erts thathe prov ide d an adeq uate ex pla nati on for the s tamps in his pass por

t ind ic ati ng that he had left A lba nia dur ing the ti me per iod i n w hic h he w as all eg edl y i mpri soned for p oli ti cal ac ti v ity . As w e hav e s tated , however , t he s tandard tha t Kaci q i seek s t o empl oy i s n o l o n gera p pli cabl e to peti ti ons li ke his thatw ere fil ed after Ma y 11, 2005.
Ka c i q i c i te s s ev eral c as es from o ur c i r cui t an d ot he rs i n s up po rt of h i s c l ai ms re g ardin g credi bil ity . Tw o of thes e c a se s i nv olv e obv iou s mi sunde rs tandi ng s b ased on transl ati on mi sta kes or

ty pog ra phi cal er ro rs . See Ahm ed v . G onzale s , 398 F .3d 7 22, 7 27 (6th Cir. 2005 ) (due proce ss challen ge prop er in a case in w hich inte rpreter error or judge’s failu re to understa nd pet it ion ers’ cl ear tes ti mony

w oul d resul t i n unfair

hear ing ); Dam aizeJob v. INS , 787 F.2 d 133 2, 133 7 (9th Cir. 19 86) (ty pograph ical error i nvolv ing applican t’s son’ s b ir th da te di d notdamag e hi s c re dib il ity ). There i s n o i ndi cat ion thatKac iq i w as preju dic ed by

i nter pretati on or

transl ati on er ro rs . An Albani an i nter preter w as prov ide d for him at his hea ring in Detroit an d also athis initial interv iew s at the Housto n airport. Athis asy lum hear in g, t he i mmig ra ti on j udg e c auti oned K aci q i to l is ten t o the full i nter pretati on of qu est ion s i nto A lba nia n and not to attemptto answ er the q uest ion s i mmediat ely after the y were as ked in Eng li sh. Sh e al so g av e Kac iq i ti me to re v iew hi s a ppl ic ati on atthe hear ing and make a ny needed co rrect ion s a nd, a s a resul t, his att or ney made seve ra l handw r i t t e n a me n d me n t s t o t h e a p p l i c a t i o n b u t d i d n o t c h a n g e t h e s t a t e me n t r e l a t e d toNo. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

9 Kaci q i’ s mil it ar

y ser v ic e. Kaci q i hims elf ar ra ng ed for all ten of the doc uments su bmit ted t o the c our t t o be transl ated from Al bani an to Eng li sh.
Des pit e the se cor re cti ons, the immi g ra ti on jud g e deter mined that Kaci q i’ s t est imony
w as not c re dib le, bas ing her co ncl usi on on inc onsi ste ncie s th a t w ere notco ll ateral but, ins tead, w ent to the hear t of t he peti ti oner ’s cl aim. They inc lud ed Kaci q i’ s fai lure to menti on beati ng s s o s ev ere tha t he suffered broken ri bs, a c onfli ct betw een Ka ci q i’ s t est imony and his appl ic ati on re g ardin g his suppo rt for the candi date w ho repl aced his co usi n, an d s hifti ng tes ti mony

co ncer nin g the month i n w hic h his las t arrestoccur re d. Kaci q i’ s s tatementthat he c ame to the U nit ed St ates for e conomi c reason s, the s tamps in his pass por t s how ing tha t som eon e ha d use d it to en ter Greec e du ring the time in which he w as allegedly imp risoned in Alban ia, and d iscrepan cies bet w een K aciqi’s testim ony a nd th at of his uncle
w ere al so cons ide re d by the immi g ra ti on judg e i n ar ri v ing at her credi bil ity

dete rmi nati on. Fur ther more, the j udg e not ed th at K aci q i had fail ed to produce co rroborati v e ev ide nce that must hav e been re adi ly obtainab le, such as w ri tten st atements f ro m his ow n parents and his co usi n’s parents

. After all, Ka ci q i tes ti fied th at he sp oke to hi s p arents freq uentl y on the t ele phone, and he w as abl e to obtai n a w ri tten sta temen t f rom his brother-i n- law on shor t not ic e.
Add itiona lly , the imm igration judge had the opp ortun ity to obse rv e the petitio ner’s demeanor

and his resp o n ses to q uest ion ing and cross -e x aminat ion , facto rs thatare a leg it imat e bas is for fin din g thatan a ppl ic ant i s n ot c re dib le. See 8 U.S.C.No. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

10 § 1158( b) (1 )( B) (i ii ); Ndr ecaj , 522 F. 3d at 674. Our re v iew of the t ra nsc ri pt es tabl is hes that Kaci q i re peatedl y

ch ang ed hi s story

w hen c onfronte d w it h ev ide nce to t he c ontrar y – for
ex ample, w hen he chang ed th e dat e of hi s l asti mpri sonmentfrom J une t o J uly and then back ag ain to June after bei ng co nfronted w it h confli cti ng ev ide nce. W it h re g ard to other si g nific ant i ncons is tenc ies i n hi s t est imony , Ka ci q i si mply fail ed to g iv e ex pla nati ons that
w oul d be persuas iv e to a reason abl e finder of fact or that w oul d c ompel us to ov ertur n the immi g ra ti on j udg e’s credi bil ity findi ng s o n appea l.
Fi nal ly , t he i mmig ra ti on j udg e obser v ed th at “ [e]v en i f th[e] Cou rt w ere to ov er loo k the num erou s inconsiste ncies an d om issions in this record, [it] w ould still den y [Kaciqi’s]
a p p lic a ti on for re li ef and protec ti on on the mer it s.” Sp eci fical ly , t he j udg e found tha t t he p e ti ti o n e r’s cl aim of past persec uti on had not b een es tabl is hed and thathe c oul d not , the refore, avail himself

of t he p resum ption t hath e had a well-fou nde d fear of facing f utu re persec uti on. See Mikhailevitch v. INS , 146 F.3d 384 , 389 (6th Cir. 1998 ) ( citing 8 C.F.R. § 20 8.1 3(b)(1)(i))

. Moreover, in this case any such p resum ption w ould have been sq uare ly
re butte d by

the g ov er nment’ s p ro of that condi ti ons in the appl ic ant’ s count ry of or ig in had chang ed to su ch an ex tent thatthe appl ic ant w oul d no lon g er reason abl y

fear persec uti on if he w ere to re tur n to Al bani a. See Ouda v. INS , 324 F.3d 44 5, 45 2 (6th Cir. 200 3).
The Sta te D epar

tment’ s C ountr

y R epor ts for Al bani a es tabl is h tha t t he pol it ic al cl imat e the re has ch ang ed dramati cal ly si nce Kaci q i left t he c ountr y i n 2002. They

sh ow that Kaci q i’ s p arty , t he D emocrati c P arty , i s cu rrent ly i n pow er

i n Al bani a; t hat t he maj orNo. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

11 partie s – both the Dem ocrats an d the Socialist s – h a v e repu diate d the coun try ’s Communi st past ; and thatthere are no credi ble repor ts of poli ti cal partie s usi ng the g ov er nment t o repress oppone nts w hil e the y are i n pow er . And, alt hough t he rele v ant
re p o rt d o e s n o t e t h a t v i o l e n c e a n d p o l i c e c o r r u p t i o n r e ma i n p ro b l e ms i n s e cti ons of Alba nia, it f urthe r establishe s thatthere h ave been no credib le reports of politi c a ll ymoti v ated v iol ence and det enti on i n the recentpas t.
A p p ly ing this g ene ral informa tion f rom th e Coun try Report to Kaciqi’s specif ic si tuati on, w e concl ude in this case, as w e hav e i n s ev eral others, see , e.g. , Ndr ecaj , 522 F.3d at 676 , tha t it appe ars w holly unlikely that a sup porte r of t he Dem ocratic Pa rty

could
reaso nab ly fear persecutio n base d on his political opinion w hile his part y is in p ower. Mo re ov er , Ka ci q i’ s spec ula ti on that the Democrati c P arty mig ht ev entual ly

l ose an el ect ion
or tha t the Socia lists might g ain political power throu gh som e oth er me an s is si m ply in su f f ici e n t t o es ta b lis h a well- fo u n d e d fe a r of f u tu re pe rse cu ti o n . A s t h e im m igra ti o n ju d ge not ed a t the tim e o f

the he aring, Kaciqi’ s mot her, fath er, and sister remain ed in Alb ania and, acc ordin g to the a sy lum applica ti o n, K aci q i’ s father w as an ac ti v e member of the Democ ra ti c P arty , y et no one in the i mmediat e famil y had been targ eted or har med bas ed on pol it ic al opi nio n. W e c oncl ude t hat t here is su b st a n ti al ev ide nce to s uppor t t he imm igration judge’s decision to den y asy lum to the petitio ner.
Fi nal ly , bec ause the p eti ti oner ca nnot est abl is h g ro unds for a g ra nt of as y lum, he
canno t meet the hig her standard of

proof re q uired for

granti ng w it hhol din g of re mov al orNo. 08- 3893

Kaci qi v. Holder

12 protec ti on under the Uni ted Nat ion s Conv enti on Ag ain st Tortu re . See Ndr ecaj , 522 F .3d at 67 7.
For

the re as o n s s e t o u t a b o v e , w e a ffi r m t he dec is ion of the i mmig ra ti on jud g e and, therefore, DE NY the peti ti on to rev iew

the deci si on of the Board of Immig ra ti on App eals.