FI L ED

U.S. COURT OF APPEAL S

EL EVENTH CI RCUI T

APRI L 5, 2010

J OHN L EY

CL ERK [ D O N O T P U B L I S H ]

I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C I R C U I T

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

N o

. 0 9

- 1 2 8 4 5

N o n

- A r g u m e n t C a l e n d a r

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A g e n c y N o

. A 0 9 8

- 5 4 8

- 7 4 7

H U M B E R T O A L V A R E Z

,

P e t i t i o n e r

,

v e r s u s

U

. S

. A T T O R N 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 o n f o r R e v i e w o f a D e c i s i o n o f t h e

B o a r d o f I m m i g r a t i o n A p p e a l s

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

( A p r i l 5

, 2 0 1 0 )

B e f o r e C A R N E S

, M A R C U S a n d A N D E R S O N

, C i r c u i t J u d g e s

.

P E R C U R I A M :

H u m b e r t o A l v a r e z

, a n a t i v e o f C o l o m b i a a n d a c i t i z e n o f V e n e z u e l a

, t h r o u g hc o u n s e l

, s e e k s r e v i e w o f t h e B o a r d o f I m m i g r a t i o n A p p e a l s ’ ( “ B I A ” ) d e c i s i o n

,

a f f i r m i n g t h e I m m i g r a t i o n J u d g e ’ s ( “ I J ” ) o r d e r d e n y i n g h i s a p p l i c a t i o n f o r a s y l u m

,

w i t h h o l d i n g o f r e m o v a l u n d e r t h e I m m i g r a t i o n a n d N a t i o n a l i t y A c t ( “ I N A ” )

, a n d

r e l i e f u n d e r t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s C o n v e n t i o n A g a i n s t T o r t u r e a n d O t h e r C r u e l

,

I n h u m a n a n d D e g r a d i n g T r e a t m e n t o r P u n i s h m e n t ( “ C A T ” )

. I N A § § 2 0 8

, 2 4 1

, 8

U

. S

. C

. § § 1 1 5 8

, 1 2 3 1 ; 8 C

. F

. R

. § 2 0 8

. 1 6 ( c )

. I n h i s p e t i t i o n f o r a s y l u m

, A l v a r e z

c l a i m e d t h a t h e w a s p e r s e c u t e d i n V e n e z u e l a b y t h e B o l i v a r i a n C i r c l e s a n d o t h e r

a u t h o r i t i e s t h a t s u p p o r t t h e g o v e r n m e n t o f H u g o C h a v e z

. A l v a r e z t e s t i f i e d b e f o r e

t h e I J t h a t m e m b e r s o f t h e B o l i v a r i a n C i r c l e s t h r e a t e n e d h i m

, b e a t h i m

, a n d / o r

r a n s a c k e d h i s h o m e o n m u l t i p l e o c c a s i o n s i n 2 0 0 2 a n d 2 0 0 3 d u e t o h i s

p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n v a r i o u s p r o t e s t m a r c h e s o r g a n i z e d b y t h e A c t i o n w o r k e r s o f

V e n e z u e l a

. T h e I J a n d t h e B I A b o t h c o n c l u d e d t h a t A l v a r e z f a i l e d t o p r e s e n t a

c r e d i b l e c l a i m o f a s y l u m

.

O n a p p e a l

, A l v a r e z a r g u e s t h a t t h e I J a n d B I A f a i l e d t o p r o v i d e s u f

f i c i e n t

r e a s o n s f o r t h e i r a d v e r s e c r e d i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n s b e c a u s e t h e i d e n t i f i e d

i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s i n h i s t e s t i m o n y w e r e e i t h e r i n s i g n i f i c a n t o r w e r e n o t a c t u a l l y

i n c o n s i s t e n t

. A l v a r e z a r g u e s t h a t t h e r e c o r d c o m p e l s r e v e r s a l

. W e d i s a g r e e

.

I n o r d e r t o e s t a b l i s h e l i g i b i l i t y f o r a s y l u m

, a n a p p l i c a n t m u s t p r o v i d e

“ c r e d i b l e

, d i r e c t

, a n d s p e c i f i c e v i d e n c e i n t h e r e c o r d ” s h o w i n g t h a t h e i s a

“ r e f u g e e

. ” F o r

g u e v

. U

. S

. A t t ’ y G e n

. , 4 0 1 F

. 3 d 1 2 8 2

, 1 2 8 7 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 5 )

2( q u o t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

. S e e a l s o 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 1 5 8 ( b ) ( 1 )

. A n a l i e n q u a l i f i e s a s a

r e f u g e e i f h e c a n e s t a b l i s h h e h a s s u f f e r e d p a s t p e r s e c u t i o n o r h a s a “ w e l l

- f o u n d e d

f e a r o f p e r s e c u t i o n o n a c c o u n t o f r a c e

, r e l i g i o n

, n a t i o n a l i t y

, m e m b e r s h i p i n a

p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l g r o u p

, o r p o l i t i c a l o p i n i o n

. ” I N A § 1 0 1 ( a ) ( 4 2 ) ( A ) ; 8 U

. S

. C

. §

1 1 0 1 ( a ) ( 4 2 ) ( A )

.

I f a n a l i e n ’ s t e s t i m o n y t h a t h e f e a r s p e r s e c u t i o n i s c r e d i b l e

, i t m a y b e

s u f f i c i e n t w i t h o u t c o r r o b o r a t i o n t o s a t i s f y h i s b u r d e n o f p r o o f r e q u i r e d t o e s t a b l i s h

a s y l u m e l i g i b i l i t y

. K u e v i a k o e v

. U

. S

. A t t ’ y G e n

. , 5 6 7 F

. 3 d 1 3 0 1

, 1 3 0 4 ( 1 1 t h C i r

.

2 0 0 9 )

. L i k e w i s e

, a d e n i a l o f a s y l u m r e l i e f c a n b e s u p p o r t e d s o l e l y b y a n a d v e r s e

c r e d i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n

, w h i c h m a y b e m a d e o n t h e b a s i s o f i n t e r n a l

i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s i n a n a p p l i c a n t ’ s t e s t i m o n y

. M o h a m m e d v

. U

. S

. A t t ’ y G e n

. , 5 4 7

F

. 3 d 1 3 4 0

, 1 3 4 8 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 8 ) ( c i t i n g 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 1 5 8 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( B ) ( i i i ) )

. I f t h e

c o u r t e x p l i c i t l y d e t e r m i n e s t h a t t h e a l i e n l a c k s c r e d i b i l i t y

, i t m u s t o f f e r “ s p e c i f

i c

,

c o g e n t r e a s o n s ” f

o r t h e f i n d i n g

. K u e v i a k o e

, 5 6 7 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 0 5

. T h e b u r d e n t h e n

s h i f t s t o t h e a l i e n t o s h o w w h y t h e c r e d i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n w a s n o t s u p p o r t e d b y

“ s p e c i f i c

, c o g e n t r e a s o n s ” o r w a s n o t b a s e d o n s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e

. I d

.

F a c t u a l d e t e r m i n a t i o n s

, i n c l u d i n g c r e d i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n s

, a r e r e v i e w e d

u n d e r a s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e s t a n d a r d

, w h i c h p r o v i d e s t h a t t h e d e c i s i o n “ c a n b e

r e v e r s e d o n l y i f e v i d e n c e ‘ c o m p e l s ’ a r e a s o n a b l e f a c t f i n d e r t o f i n d o t h e r w i s e

. ”

S e p u l v e d a v

. U

. S

. A t t ’ y G e n

. , 4 0 1 F

. 3 d 1 2 2 6

, 1 2 3 0 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 5 ) ( p e r c u r i a m )

.

3T h e r e f

o r e

, w e m u s t a f

f i r m t h e B I A ’ s d e c i s i o n i f i t i s s u p p o r t e d b y “ r e a s o n a b l e

,

s u b s t a n t i a l

, a n d p r o b a t i v e e v i d e n c e o n t h e r e c o r d c o n s i d e r e d a s a w h o l e

. ” A l

N a j j a r v

. A s h c r o

f t

, 2 5 7 F

. 3 d 1 2 6 2

, 1 2 8 4 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 1 )

. W e r e v i e w t h e r e c o r d

e v i d e n c e “ i n t h e l i g h t m o s t f a v o r a b l e t o t h e a g e n c y ’ s d e c i s i o n a n d d r a w a l l

r e a s o n a b l e i n f

e r e n c e s i n f

a v o r o f t h a t d e c i s i o n

. ” A d e f e m i v

. A s h c r o

f t

, 3 8 6 F

. 3 d

1 0 2 2

, 1 0 2 7 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 4 ) ( e n b a n c )

.

W h e r e

, a s h e r e

, t h e B I A i s s u e s i t s o w n o p i n i o n

, w e r e v i e w o n l y t h e d e c i s i o n

o f t h e B I A

, e x c e p t t o t h e e x t e n t t h e B I A e x p r e s s l y a d o p t s t h e I J ’ s d e c i s i o n a n d

r e a s o n i n g

. A l N

a j j a r

, 2 5 7 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 8 4

. T h e r e f o r e

, b e c a u s e t h e B I A e x p r e s s l y

a d o p t e d t h e c o n c l u s i o n s a n d r e a s o n i n g w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h r e e i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s i n

A l v a r e z ’ s t e s t i m o n y

, w e l o o k t o b o t h t h e B I A ’ s a n d t h e I J ’ s o p i n i o n s w i t h r e s p e c t

t o t h o s e p e r c e i v e d i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s

.

T h e B I A f

o u n d t h a t A l v a r e z f

a i l e d t o p r e s e n t a c r e d i b l e c l a i m f o r a s y l u m

b e c a u s e h i s t e s t i m o n y w a s i n s u f f i c i e n t l y d e t a i l e d

, c o n t a i n e d i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l

i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s

, a n d l a c k e d s u f f i c i e n t c o r r o b o r a t i o n

. T h e B I A e n d o r s e d t h r e e o f

t h e I J ’ s i d e n t i f

i e d i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s i n m a k i n g i t s a d v e r s e c r e d i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n

.

F i r s t

, t h e B I A r e c o g n i z e d a n i n t e r n a l i n c o n s i s t e n c y i n A l v a r e z ’ s t e s t i m o n y b e f o r e

t h e I J

. A l v a r e z t e s t i f

i e d t h a t o n J u n e 1 5

, 2 0 0 2

, h i s h o m e w a s i n v a d e d b y m e m b e r s

o f t h e B o l i v a r i a n C i r c l e s a n d N a t i o n a l G u a r d ; h e w a s b e a t e n u n c o n s c i o u s a n d

a w a k e n e d i n a p o o l o f b l o o d ; a n d h e “ r e m a i n e d i n [ h i s ] a p a r t m e n t f o r t w o d a y s i n

4f

e a r ” b e f o r e s e e k i n g m e d i c a l a t t e n t i o n

. T h e B I A f o u n d t h a t A l v a r e z c o n t r a d i c t e d

t h i s s t a t e m e n t w h e n h e a l s o t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e d a y a f

t e r t h e a l l e g e d b e a t i n g

, h e l e f t

h i s a p a r t m e n t t o r e p o r t t h e i n c i d e n t a t t h e p o l i c e s t a t i o n

. S e c o n d

, w h i l e A l v a r e z

t e s t i f i e d t h a t h e c h a n g e d h i s r e s i d e n c e i n C a r a c a s o n l y o n c e t o a v o i d f u r t h e r

p e r s e c u t i o n

, h i s w i f

e t e s t i f i e d t h a t s h e a n d A l v a r e z w e r e c o n s t a n t l y m o v i n g f r o m

p l a c e t o p l a c e d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d a f t e r t h e J u n e 2 0 0 2 b e a t i n g

. T h i r d

, A l v a r e z

t e s t i f i e d t h a t w h e n h e r e t u r n e d t o V e n e z u e l a f o r a s h o r t v i s i t a f

t e r f i r s t e n t e r i n g t h e

U n i t e d S t a t e s d u e t o p e r s e c u t i o n

, n o t h i n g p e r s o n a l l y h a p p e n e d t o h i m a s i d e f r o m

t h r e a t s b e c a u s e h e w o u l d n o t l e a v e h i s a p a r t m e n t f o r f e a r o f f u t u r e b e a t i n g s

. H i s

w i f e

, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d

, t e s t i f i e d t h a t h e w a s “ f

o u n d ” b y t h e B o l i v a r i a n C i r c l e s

t h r e e d a y s a f

t e r h i s r e t u r n

, a n d h i s p e r s e c u t o r s m o n i t o r e d h i s a p a r t m e n t t h r o u g h o u t

h i s s t a y

, w h i c h p r o m p t e d h i s s e c o n d e n t r y t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s

.

A l t h o u g h w e a g r e e w i t h A l v a r e z t h a t t h e I J a n d B I A o v e r s t a t e d t h e

i n c o n s i s t e n c y b e t w e e n h i s a n d h i s w i f e ’ s t e s t i m o n y r e g a r d i n g t h e e v e n t s f o l l o w i n g

h i s r e t u r n t o V e n e z u e l a

, t h e o t h e r t w o i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s c o n s t i t u t e “ s p e c i f i c

, c o g e n t 1

r e a s o n s ” f

o r t h e B I A ’ s a d v e r s e c r e d i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d a r e m a t e r i a l t o h i s

The B I A endor sed the I J ’s finding that Alvare z’s testim ony that he had no 1

problems with the B olivarian Circle s upon his return, which he qualified a s being due to his

decision to rema in in hiding in his apartment, wa s inconsistent with his wife’s testimony that his

perse cutors monitored the f oy er of his apartment building . Howeve r, Alvar ez also testified that

there wer e thre ats made a g ainst him by members of

the B olivarian Circle s. The I J and B I A

appea r to have ignor ed this testimony , which lessens the perc eived inconsistenc y betwee n

Alvare z’s and his wife’s testimony

. 5a s y l u m c l a i m

. F i r s t

, t h e f a c t t h a t A l v a r e z t e s t i f

i e d t h a t h e o n l y m o v e d o n c e w i t h i n 2

C a r a c a s t o a v o i d p e r s e c u t i o n i s i n d i r e c t c o n f l i c t w i t h h i s w i f

e ’ s t e s t i m o n y t h a t t h e y

m o v e d c o n s t a n t l y d u r i n g t h e r e l e v a n t t i m e p e r i o d

. T h i s i n c o n s i s t e n c y i s m a t e r i a l t o

A l v a r e z ’ s c l a i m i n t h a t i t s u g g e s t s a l a c k o f c r e d i b i l i t y a s t o w h a t s t e p s h e t o o k t o

a v o i d f u r t h e r h a r m o r h a r a s s m e n t

, w h i c h i s r e l e v a n t t o w h e t h e r A l v a r e z h a s a n

o b j e c t i v e f e a r o f f u t u r e h a r m i n V e n e z u e l a

. S e c o n d

, t h e i n t e r n a l i n c o n s i s t e n c y i n

A l v a r e z ’ s t e s t i m o n y t h a t h e w a s t o o a f r a i d a n d t o o w e a k d u e t o b l o o d l o s s t o l e a v e

h i s a p a r t m e n t f

o r t w o d a y s a f

t e r t h e J u n e 1 5

, 2 0 0 2 b e a t i n g b u t a t t h e s a m e t i m e l e f t

h i s a p a r t m e n t t o f

i l e a p o l i c e r e p o r t i s a l s o m a t e r i a l t o h i s a s y l u m c l a i m b e c a u s e i t

b e a r s d i r e c t l y o n t h e t r u t h a n d s e r i o u s n e s s o f t h e e v e n t s t h a t A l v a r e z c l a i m s

c o n s t i t u t e d p a s t p e r s e c u t i o n

. I n l i g h t o f t h e s e t w o i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s

, a s w e l l a s t h e

l a c k o f c o r r o b o r a t i n g e v i d e n c e o f A l v a r e z ’ s p e r s e c u t i o n

, i n t h e f o r m o f p o l i c e

r e p o r t s o r m e d i c a l r e c o r d s

, w e c a n n o t c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e “ c o m p e l s ”

r e v e r s a l

. S e e S e

p u l v e d a

, 4 0 1 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 3 0

.

I n s u m

, s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e s u p p o r t s t h e B I A ’ s a d v e r s e c r e d i b i l i t y

The REAL

I D Act, whic h g overns a ll asy lum applications filed af ter May 11, 2

2005, now provides that a n adver se cr edibility

deter mination may

be base d on any

inconsistency

,

reg ardle ss of whethe r the inconsistenc y is material, i.e., whe ther or not it g oes to the hea rt of the

asy lum claim. See REAL I D Act § 101( a)( 3)(B )(iii), Pub. L . No. 109-13, 119 Stat. 231 (2005),

codified a t 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B )(iii). Alvar ez’s asy lum application was filed in 2004 a nd is

there fore not gove rned by the REAL

I D Act. Our

circ uit has not determined whe ther c redibility

deter minations, in cases not g overne d by the REAL

I D Act, must be supporte d by

inconsistencies that g o to the hear t of the cla im.

6d e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d r e s u l t i n g d e n i a l o f A l v a r e z ’ s a p p l i c a t i o n f o r a s y l u m

. T h e r e f

o r e

, 3

w e d e n y h i s p e t i t i o n f

o r r e v i e w

. 4

P E T I T I O N D E N I E D

.

We decline to re ach A lvare z’s additional arg ument that the I J committed 3

reve rsible er

ror by finding that he could r eloca te to Colombi a. The BI A expressly stated that it

was not consider ing the challeng e to the I J ’s g rant of the motion to pretermit Alvare z’s asy lum

application base d on a saf e third country

for r emoval. I nstead, it chose to a ffirm the de nial of

asy lum on burden of pr oof g rounds.

Be cause Alvare z failed to establish elig ibilit y for a sy lum, we also deny his 4

applications for

withholding of r emoval and CAT r elief. “ To qualify for withholding of re moval

or CAT re lief, an a lien must establish standards more string ent that those for asy lum eligibility ;

thus, an alien una

ble to prove a

well-founde d fea

r of pe rsec ution based on a pr otected g round, as

require d for a sy lum relief, ne cessa rily fails to demonstrate a

clea r proba bility of per secution, the

standard a

pplicable to a c laim for withholding of remova l.” Rodriguez Morales v. U .S. Att’y

Gen. , 488 F.3d 884, 891 ( 11th Cir. 2007) (interna l citation omitt ed).

7