FILED U.S. COURT OF AP P EALS E LEVEN T HC IRC UIT FEB 9, 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- 11478 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ A ge nc y N o. A 97- 384- 886 M I N Q I W 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

_________________________ ( F e b r u ar y 9, 2007) B efo re A N D E R S O N , B IR C H an d B A R K E T T , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M:2

M in Q i W en p etit io n s f o r r ev iew o f th e B o ar d o f I m m ig ra ti o n A p p ea ls’s ( B I A ) a dopt i on a nd a f

f i rm a nc e of

the I m m i gr a t i on J udge ’ s ( I J ) or de rde ny i ng a s y l um , w i thhol di ng of

r e m ova l , 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 ntor P u n is h m e n t ( C A T ) . I . DI S CUS S I ON Wh e n , a s h e r e , th e B I A i s s u e s as u m m a ry a f f i rm a n c e o f

th e I J ’ s o p i n i o n , we r e v ie w th e I J ’s o p in io n , n o t th e B I A ’s d e c is io n . S e e M e n d o z av . U .S . A tt’yG e n ., 32 7 F . 3d 12 83 , 12 84 n. 1 (11 th C i r. 20 03 ). T he IJ ’ s “ fi nd i ng s of f ac tar e r evi ew ed u n d e rth e s u b s ta n tia l e v id e n c e te s t,” a n d w e m u s t a f f irm th e d e c is io n “if

it is supp ort ed by re as on abl e, subst ant i al , and p robat i ve evi dence on the re cord c o n s id e r e d a s aw h o le .” A n tip o v av . U .S . A tt’yG e n ., 3 9 2 F .3 d 1 2 5 9 , 1 2 6 1 ( 1 1 th C i r. 20 04 ) ( ci t at i on and i nt ernal qu ot at i on om i tt ed). C re di bi l i ty det erm i nat i on s are a l s o 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 . F or gue v. U . S . A tt ’ y G e n. , 401 F . 3d 12 82 , 12 86 (11th C i r. 20 05 ) ( ci t at i on s om i tt ed). “ T o revers e the IJ ’ s f ac t fi nd i ng s, w e m ustfi nd thatthe re cord no ton l y s up po rt s r ever sa l , bu tcom pel s i t . ” M endo za , 32 7 F . 3d at12 87 (c i t at i on om i tt ed).

“ T o est abl i sh as yl um el i gi bi l i ty, the al i en m ustes t abl i sh, a w el l -f ou nd ed fe ar tha thi s orhe rpol i t i c a l opi ni on ( orothe rs t a tut or i l y l i s t e d f a c t or ) w i l l c aus e ha rm or s uf f e r i ng tha tr i s e s t o the l e ve l of pe r s e c ut i on. ” F or gue , 401 F . 3d a t1286 ( c i t a t i onTo qualify for withholding of removal or CAT relief

, an alien must establish standards more 1 stringent that those for a sylum eligibility , and thus an alien unable to provea “w ell-founde d fea r” of persecution, as required f or asylum relief, ne cessa

rily fails to prove, by

a prepondera

nce of the evidenc e , th at hewi ll b epers e cute d o n ac c ount o f a pr ot ect ed grou nd , o r tor ture d. Zhengv. U. S. Att’y Gen., 451 F .3d 1287, 1292 (11th Cir.) (per curiam), petition f or cer t. f iled, 75 U.S.L .W. 3121 (U.S. Sep. 12, 2006) (N o. 06-367). 3 a nd quot a t i on om i tt e d) . “ T he a s y l um appl i c a ntm us te s t abl i s h e l i gi bi l i ty f or 1 as yl um by offe ri ng cr edi bl e, di re ct , and speci fi c e vi dence i n the re cord. ” I d. at 1 2 8 7 ( c ita tio n a n d in te rn a l q u o ta tio n o m itte d ) . T h e a lie n ’s te s tim o n y , if c r e d ib le , m a y be s uf

f i c i e ntt o s us t a i n the bur de n of pr oof f ora s y l um orw i thhol di ng of rem o v al w i th o u tco rro b o rat i o n . 8 C . F . R . § § 2 0 8 . 1 3 (a), 2 0 8 . 1 6 (b ). C o n v ersel y,

“ [a] n IJ’ s d en i al o f asyl u m rel i ef . . . can b e su p p o rt ed so l el y b y an ad v erse c r e di bi l i ty de t e rm i na t i on, e s pe c i a l l y i f the a l i e n f

a i l s t o pr oduc e c orr obor a t i ng evi dence. ” C hen v . U . S . A tt ’ y G en. , 46 3 F . 3d 12 28 , 12 31 (11th C i r. 20 06 ) ( per c ur i a m ) ( c i t a t i on om i tt e d) . “ I f the I Je xpl i c i t l y de t e rm i ne s tha tthe a l i e n l a c ks cr edi bi l i ty, the IJm ustoffe r s peci fi c, cogentre as on s f or the fi nd i ng . T he bu rden then shi ft s t o the al i en t o sho w thatthe IJ ’ s c re di bi l i ty dec i si on w as no tsupp ort ed by spec i fi c, cogentre as on s or w as no tbase d o n sub st ant i al evi dence. ” I d. (i nt ernal citati o n s a n d q u o tati o n s o m itted ). W h en th e I J e n u m er ates an ap p li ca n t’ s i nc ons i s t e nc i e s a nd thos e i nc ons i s t e nc i e s a r e s upport e d by the r e c or d, w e “ w i l l not subst i tut e our j ud gm entfor thatof the IJw i th res pectt o i t s c re di bi l i ty f i nd i ng s. ” S e e D - M u h u m e d v . U .S . A tt’y G e n ., 3 8 8 F .3 d 8 1 4 , 8 1 9 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 4 ) .4

W en arg u es th atth e IJ’ s ad v erse cred i b i l i ty d et erm i n at i o n w as b ased o n fal se r e ndi t i ons of

hi s t e s t i m ony a nd, a tbe s t , m i nori nc ons i s t e nc i e s i n the r e c or d a nd w as no tbase d o n speci fi c and cogentre as on i ng . In addi t i on , W en cont ends that the I Jl a c ke d s ubs t a nt i a l e vi de nc e upon w hi c h t o de ny hi s a s y l um c l a i m , a s s e rt i ng tha the pr e s e nt e d s pe c i f i c , c ohe r e nt , a nd c ons i s t e ntt e s t i m ony r e ga r di ng pe r s e c ut i on b ased o n h i s v i o l at i o n o f C h i n a’ s co erci v e p o p u l at i o n co n tro l p o l i ci es. A f t e rc a r e f ul r e vi e w of

the r e c or d a nd the pa rt i e s ’ br i e f s , w e f i nd no re vers i bl e e rr or. T he re cord do es no tcom pel a r ever sa l of the IJ ’ s f i nd i ng s that W en ’ s t est i m o n y l ack ed cred i b i l i ty, an d th ath i s cl ai m s w ere n o to th erw i se supp ort ed by “ cr edi bl e, di re ct , and speci fi c e vi dence. ” S ee F orgu e, 40 1 F . 3d at 1287 ( c i t a t i on a nd quot a t i on om i tt e d) . W hi l e W e n a r gue s tha thi s t e s t i m ony re gardi ng hi s e m pl oym ent , hi s tra vel arrang em ent s, and h i s r es i dence re sul t ed i n, at the w orst , on l y m i no r i ncon si st enci es , the IJ ’ s a dv er se cr edi bi l i ty f i nd i ng w as n o n e th e le s s s u p p o rte d b y s p e c if ic , c o g e n t r e a s o n in g , b a s e d o n a ll o f th e e v id e n c e in the re cord. S peci fi ca l l y, the IJfoun d thatW en’ s c l ai m thathe nei ther had m on ey norow e d m one y w a s i nc ons i s t e ntw i th the f a c ttha the t e s t i f

i e d he w a s notw orki ng a nd he ha d hi r e d a tl e a s tthr e e a tt orne y s a nd ha d tr a ve l e d by a i rpl a ne f r om M ic h ig a n to F lo r id a . T h e I Jf u rth e rd e ta ile d th a t w h ile W e n te s tif ie d th a t h e d id nots pe a k M a nda r i n ve ry w e l l , he c onduc t e d hi s a i rporti nt e rvi e w i n M a nda r i n, es se nt i al l y answ er i ng al l of the qu es t i on s. P erhaps m osti m po rt ant l y, the IJno t ed5

tha t , w he n a n I N S of

f i c i a l a s ke d W e n w hy he ha d c om e t o the U ni t e d S t a t e s upon arri vi ng atthe M i am i ai rport , the IN S offi ce r’ s i nt ervi ew form i nd i ca t ed thatW en a n s w e r e d “I w a n t m y f

a th e rto b e p r o u d o f

h is s o n .” R a t 3 5 ( q u o tin g id . a t 9 6 ) . Th e I Ji n d i c a t e d th a tW e n n o w c l a i ms th a th i s p a r e n t s ab a n d o n e d h i m a n d h e c a me he r e be c aus e he w a s pe r s e c ut e d. B a s e d upon the s e a nd othe ri nc ons i s t e nc i e s i n the r e c o r d , th e I Jf

o u n d th a t W e n ’s te s tim o n y “s im p lyla c k s th e r in g o f tru th .” I d . B e c aus e thi s f

i ndi ng w a s s upport e d by s ubs t a nt i a l e vi de nc e a nd m a de ba s e d on c oge nt , s pe c i f

i c a na l y s i s of

the e vi de nc e i n the r e c or d, thi s C ourtm a y not s ubs t i tut e i t s j udgm e ntf ortha tof the I J . S e e D - M uhum e d, 388 F . 3d a t819. M or e ove r , e ve n i f

c ons i de r e d c r e di bl e , W e n f a i l e d t o e s t abl i s h e l i gi bi l i ty f or r e l i e f . A s not e d by the I J , W e n t e s t i f i e d tha the a nd hi s gi r l f

r i e nd m a de the d e c is io n to ab o rt h e rp r e g n a n c y , a n d th e r e w a s n o e v id e n c e o f af o r c e d ab o rtio n . W hen W en w as as ked t o d es cr i be ho w he had b ee n p er se cut ed, he t es t i fi ed that w hen h e w as si xt ee n years ol d h e had i m pregnat ed hi s gi rl fr i end, w ho w as a y ear y o u n g e rth a n h im , a n d f e a r e d th a t h e w o u ld b e p u t in ja il if h e r e tu rn e d to C h in a . W en adm i tt ed thathe and h i s gi rl fr i end d ec i ded t o h ave an abo rt i on and thathe ran aw ay b efo re au th o ri t i es w h o h e cl ai m s w ere l o o k i n g fo r h i m ev er fo u n d h i m . A s a r e s u lt, W e n p r e s e n te d n o e v id e n c e th a t h is g ir lf r ie n d h a d b e e n f

o r c e d to ab o rt a pregnancy or t o u nd er go i nv ol un t ary s t er i l i za t i on and n o evi dence thathe had b ee n p e r s e c u te d f

o rr e s is ta n c e to ac o e r c iv e p o p u la tio n c o n tr o l p r o g r a m . S e e 8 U .S .C . §6

1101( a ) ( 42) ( B ) . B e c aus e W e n c a nnotm e e tthe c r i t e r i af ora s y l um r e l i e f

, he s i m i l a r l y c a nnotm e e tthe hi ghe rs t a nda r ds of pr oof r e qui r e d f

orw i thhol di ng of r e m ova l a nd C A T r e l i e f . S e e Z he ng, 451 F . 3d a t1292. I I . CONCL US I ON B ec ause W en’ s t es t i m on y w as i ncon si st ent , i n sever al re spec t s, w i th o ther ev id en ce in th e r ec o rd , an d h e f ailed to m ee t h is b u rd en to sh o w th at th e I J’s advers e c re di bi l i ty f

i nd i ng w as no tbase d u po n speci fi c, cogentre as on i ng , the IJ di d n oterr i n fi nd i ng W en’ s t es t i m on y i ncre di bl e. M oreover, because W en fa i l ed to o f f e rc r e d ib le e v id e n c e d e m o n s tr a tin g th a t h is g ir lf r ie n d ’s ab o rtio n m a d e h im e l i gi bl e f orr e l i e f on the ba s i s of

pol i t i c a l pe r s e c ut i on, the I Jdi d note rri n f i ndi ng W en i nel i gi bl e f

or as yl um , w i thh ol di ng of re m ov al , or C A T re l i ef . P E T I T I ON DE NI E D.