2009 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 6-11-2009 

# Les m an a 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 . 08-1377

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_2009

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

. It h as be e n a c c ept e d for inclusion in 2009 D e c i sion s b y an author i z e d a dmini s tr at or of V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

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 " L e s m an a v

. Atty Ge n U SA" (2009). 2009 D e cisio n s . P ape r 1199. http://d i git alc ommon s .l a

w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2009/1199NOT P RE CE DE NT I AL UN I TED STATES CO UR T OF A PP EALS F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT N o. 08- 1377 KE KE L E S M ANA; CA S S ANDR A E . P RA S E T YO, P eti ti o n ers v . A T T O R N E Y G E N E R A L O F T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S , R es pondent

O n Pet i t i on forR evi ew of an O r derof the B o a rd o f Im m ig ra tio n A p p e a ls ( A gencyN o. A 78- 580- 889) I m m i gr at i on J udge: H onor abl e A nni e S. G ar cy Subm i tt ed Pur s uantt o T hi r d C i r cui tL A R 34. 1( a)

J une 3, 2009 B efor e: A M B R O , FI SH E R and J O R D A N , C i r cui tJ udges

( O pi ni on fi l ed: J une 11, 2009)

OP I NI ON P E R C UR I AM Pet i t i oner s K eke Les m ana a nd C as s andr a E. Pr as ety o s eek r evi ew of an or derof t he B oar d of I m m i gr at i on A ppeal s ( “B I A ”) aff i r m i ng the I m m i gr at i on J udge’ s ( “I J ”) fi nal2

or derof r emoval . Fort he r eas ons t hatfol l ow , w e w i l l denythei rpet i t i on. P e tit io n e rs a re h u sb a n d a n d w if e , n a tiv e s a n d c iti z e n s o f In d o n e sia , an d e th n ic C hi nes e C hr i s t i ans . T heyent er ed the U ni t ed St at es as non- i m m i gr antvi s i t or s on M ar ch 2 8 , 2 0 0 0 , an d w e re p lac e d in to re m o v a l p ro c e e d in g s a f ter L e sm a n a , the lea d re sp o n d e n t, app l i ed fo r as y l um , w i t hh oldi ng of rem ov al , and rel i ef un der the C on ven t i on A gainst T or tur e ( “C A T ”) on A ugus t22, 2000. Pr as ety o l at erfi l ed a s epar at e appl i cat i on s eeki ng th e sa m e f

o rm s o f re lief. T h e IJ f

o u n d p e tit io n e rs r e m o v a b le a s c h a rg e d a n d d e n ied a ll r e l i e f a n d t h e BI A a f

f i r me d . P e t i t i o n e r s f

i l e d a p e t i t i o n f

o rr e v i e w. W e have j ur i s di ct i on overt hi s pet i t i on forr evi ew under8 U . S. C . § 1252. I n cas es s uch as t hi s one, w her e the B I A “i nvokes s peci fi c as pect s of the I J ’ s anal y s i s and fac t fi ndi ng i n s uppor tof [i t s ] concl us i ons , ” w e r evi ew both t he dec i s i ons of the I J and the B I A . See V oci v. G onzal ez, 409 F. 3d 607, 612- 13 ( 3d C i r . 2005) . W e r evi ew fac tual f in d in g s, in c lu d in g “ c o n c lu sio n s re g a rd in g e v id e n c e o f p a st p e rse c u tio n a n d th e w e llfounded f

earof per s ecut i on” fors ubs t ant i al evi dence . See C havarr i a v. G onzal ez, 446 F . 3 d 5 0 8 , 5 1 5 (3d C ir . 2 0 0 6 ) (cit ing A b d il le v. A sh cro ft, 2 4 2 F . 3 d 4 7 7 , 4 8 3 -84 (3d C ir . 2001) ) . U ndert hi s s t andar d, w e w i l l uphol d t hes e fi ndi ngs unl es s “the evi dence i s s uch th a t a re a s o n a b le f

a c tf in d e r w o u ld b e c o m p e lle d to c o n c lu d e o th e rw is e .” S e e id . T o b e g ra n ted a sy lu m , an a p p lica n t m u st e sta b lish th a t sh e is u n a b le o r u n w ill in g to r etur n t o hercountr yof or i gi n “bec aus e of pe r s ecut i on ora w el l - founded f earof per s ecut i on on acc ountof r ace , r el i gi on, nat i onal i t y , m ember s hi p i n a part i cul ars oci al3

gr oup, orpol i t i cal opi ni on. ” 8 U . S. C . § 1101( a) ( 42) . T o be ent i t l ed t o w i t hhol di ng of r emoval , an appl i cantm us tpr ove thati ti s m or e l i kel ythan notthather“l i fe orfr eedom wo u l d b e t h r e a t e n e d i n t h a tc o u n t r y ” o n a c c o u n to f a p r o t e c t e d g r o u n d . S e e 8 U. S . C. § 1 2 3 1 (b)(3 ). F o r reli ef u n d er the C A T , an ap p li ca n t m u st de m o n str ate tha t i t i s m o re l i kel yt han nott hats he w oul d be t or tur ed i f r emoved t o hercountr yof or i gi n. See 8 C .F .R . § 2 0 8 .1 6 (c )( 2 ). W e have defi ned per s ecut i on as “thr eat s t o l i fe, confi nement , t or tur e, and economi c r es t r i ct i ons s o s ever e thattheycons t i tut e a thr eatt o l i fe orfr eedom. ” Fat i n v. I N S, 12 F. 3d 1233, 1240 ( 3d C i r . 1993) . A ddi t i onal l y , ther e mustbe a ne xus betw een the a lle g e d p e rs e c u tio n a n d a p ro te c te d g ro u n d . S e e 8 U .S .C . § § 1 1 0 1 (a )( 4 2 ), 1 2 3 1 (b )( 3 ). A n a sy lu m a p p lica n t w h o h a s d e m o n stra ted p a st p e rse c u tio n is e n tit led to a re b u ttab le p re s u m p tio n o f

a w e ll- f o u n d e d f e a r o f f u tu re p e rs e c u tio n . S e e 8 C .F .R . § 1 2 0 8 .1 3 (b )( 1 ). A bs enta s how i ng of pas tper s ecut i on, an appl i cantm us tdemonstr at e a s ubj ect i ve fe arof futur e per s ecut i on and s how t hata r eas onabl e per s on i n hers i tuat i on w oul d fea r p e r s e c u t i o n i f

r e tu r n e d t o h e rc o u n t r yo f o r i g i n . S e e 8 C. F . R. § 1 2 0 8 . 1 3 ( b ) ( 2 ) . An a p p lica n t ca n m e e t th is o b jec tiv e p ro n g e ith e r b ysh o w in g th a t sh e w o u ld b e in d iv id u a lly s i ngl ed outforper s ecut i on upon herr eturn orthata patt ern and pr act i ce of s uch p erse cu ti o n ex ist s. S ee 8 C . F . R . § 1 2 0 8 . 1 3 (b)(2 )(i ii ). I n s uppor tof herappl i cat i on, Pr as ety o t es t i fi ed thats he w as t aunt ed byI ndones i an M us l i m s tudent s w hen s he w as 11 y ear s ol d and fr om then on al w ay s w ai t ed 15 mi nut es4

aft ers chool befor e l eavi ng forhom e. O n anotherocca s i on, s he w as gr oped on the s chool b u s w h ile in h ig h sc h o o l an d th e re a f ter b e g a n c a rry in g h e a v yb o o k s c lo se to h e r c h e st to pr eventt hatfr om happeni ng agai n. She deci ded t o become an I ndones i an ci t i zen w hen s h e w a s 2 1 b e c a u s e it m a d e it e a s ie r t o o b ta in d o c u m e n ta tio n f o r s c h o o l a n d to f

in d a jo b . I n or dert o do s o, s he w as r equi r ed t o change hername. H erhus band t es t i fi ed thathe c h a n g e d h i s n a me a n d wa s f o r c e d t o n a tu r a l i z e i n o r d e rt o c o n t i n u e h i s e d u c a t i o n . He cl ai m ed that , i n t r y i ng t o do s o, he w as tr eat ed poor l ybythe cl erks w ho w or ked atthe i m m i gr at i on offi ce be caus e he w as C hi nes e. B o th p e tit io n e rs te stif

ied a b o u t th e e v e n ts o c c u rrin g in 1 9 9 8 d u rin g th e rio ts in J akart a. O n M ay13, 1998, bot h of them w er e atw or k w hen theyl earned of r i ot i ng and h o m e s a n d b u sin e ss e s b e in g lo o ted a n d se t o n f ire in th e ir v icin ity . A c c o rd in g to Pr as ety o, m os tof the r es i dence s bei ng t ar get ed w er e occ upi ed byethni c C hi nes e, and the pol i ce di d notappea rt o t ake a nyact i on i n r es pons e. W hi l e the r i ot s w er e occ urr i ng, s he coul d hears hout s of epi t het s r egar di ng peopl e of Chi nes e anc es t r y . O n M ay14, 1998, p e t i t i o n e r s we r e a wa k e n e d b ys i r e n s . Th e l e a d e ro f th e i rh o u s i n g c o mp l e x t o l d th e m a m ob w as appr oachi ng and advi s ed them t o evac uat e t o a nea rbygym . T he nextm orni ng, aft ert he mob had subs i ded, pet i t i oner s and the otherr es i dent s of thei rhous i ng compl ex emer ged fr om t he gym t o fi nd t hatt hei rhous es had bee n r ans acke d. A w eek l at er , w hen t heyw er e perm i t t ed t o l eave t hei rhom e, theyw entt o Pr as ety o’ s m other ’ s hous e i n a di ffe r ents ect i on of J akart a, w her e theyr emai ned unt i l M ayof 1999. Pr as ety o qui ther5

jo b , b e g a n to e x p e rie n c e n ig h tm a re s, a n d f e a re d life in Ja k a rta . P e tit io n e rs th e n m o v e d to Sur abay a i n E as tJ ava, aboutni ne hour s fr om J akart a bytr ai n. A ft erappr oxi m at el yone y eari n Sur abay a, pet i t i oner s deci ded t o s eek a s y l um i n t he U ni t ed St at es , expl ai ni ng t hat t heydi d notbel i eve theyw oul d everfee l s afe i n I ndones i a. T he I J found that , w hi l e thei rt es t i m onyw as cr edi bl e, the i nci dent s theyr el at ed w er e nots uffi ci ent l ys ever e and e xtr eme t o cons t i tut e pas tper s ecut i on, and thatther e w as n o ev iden ce in the rec o rd to su g g est th at eith er o f th em m igh t be s ing led o u t fo r fu ture p erse cu ti o n if th eyw ere to return to In d o n esia. In p arti cu lar, the IJ n o ted th at th eyw ere ab le t o li v e a n d w o rship saf elyin S u rab ay a, an d co u ld return there , w h ere L esm an a’s f a m ilyliv e s. A d d iti o n a lly , the IJ f o u n d th a t th e e v id e n c e in th e re c o rd d id n o t su p p o rt a f in d in g o f a p a tte rn a n d p ra c tic e o f p e rs e c u tio n o f

e th n ic C h in e s e C h ri s tia n s in In d o n e s ia . T h e B IA a g re e d th a t w h ile p e tit io n e rs w e re c re d ib le, th e e v e n ts th e yre late d d id n o t rise to t he l evel of per s ecut i on, nordi d t heydemonstr at e a l i kel i hood of futur e per s ecut i on on acc ountof a pr ot ect ed gr ound ort he exi s t ence of a pa t t ern orpr act i ce of per s ecut i on of ethni c C hi nes e orC athol i cs i n I ndones i a. I n t hei rpet i t i on forr evi ew , pet i t i oner s ar gue thatthe I J err ed i n concl udi ng that pet i t i oner s ’ exper i ence dur i ng t he r i ot s di d notcons t i tut e per s ecut i on s i m pl ybeca us e they w er e notphy s i cal l yharm ed. A ddi t i onal l y , pet i t i oner s ar gue thatthe att ack dur i ng the r i ot s cons t i tut ed a “ t hr eatof r ape, ” as m anyC hi nes e w om en w er e r aped dur i ng thatt i m e, t hatt heys uffe r ed fr om “s ever e ec onom i c r es t r i ct i ons ” due t o t hei rC hi nes e ethni ci t y , and6

t hatt he I J fai l ed t o cons i dert he cumul at i ve ef fec tof the i ndi vi dual i ns t ance s of d isc rim in a tio n th e ye x p e rie n c e d . W e c o n sid e re d c laim s v e rysim ilar to p e tit io n e rs’ in S ioe Tjen W o n g v . A tt o rne yG en era l, 5 3 9 F . 3 d 2 2 5 (3d C ir . 2 0 0 8 ). In W o n g , p eti ti o n er, al s o ethni cal l yC hi nes e, s uffe r ed “ha r as s m entand di s cr i m i nat i on” thr oughouthery out h, h e r p a re n ts’ liv e lih o o d w a s th re a ten e d , h e r b ro th e r w a s a ss a u lted a n d late r d ied f ro m h is i nj ur i es , s he fe l tcompel l ed t o change hername t o m ake he r s el f l es s not i cea bl e, the chur ch sh e a tten d e d w a s tw ice se t o n f ire , an d d u rin g th e 1 9 9 8 rio ts, “ [ sh e ] a n d h e r f a m ilyh id in t hei rhous e forday s , w hi l e r i ot er s t hr ew s t ones and br oke the fr ontw i ndow . ” I d. at228- 29. A ft ercons i der i ng t hi s t es t i m ony , as w el l as the 2003 and 2004 Count r yR epor t s on H um an R i ght s Pr act i ces forI ndones i a, the B I A concl uded thatW ong had nots at i s fi ed the s t andar d forpr ovi ng per s ecut i on, and w e agr eed thatthe r ecor d di d notcompel s uch a fi ndi ng. I d. at232. A ddi t i onal l y , w e not ed i n di ct a thatthe more r ece ntSt at e D epart m ent r epor t s publ i s hed betw een 2005 a nd 2007 documents i m i l arori m pr oved tr eatm entof C hi nes e C hr i s t i ans i n I ndones i a. I d. at234 ( emphasi zi ng the i m por t ance of bas i ng the “fa ctual det erm i nat i on as t o a patt ern orpr act i ce c l ai m . . . on t he mostcurr ent in f o rm a tio n in th e re c o rd ” ). W hi l e w e ar e s ym pathet i c t o pet i t i oner s ’ exper i ence s i n I ndones i a, w e ca nnots ay th a t th e e v id e n c e in th e re c o rd c o m p e ls th e c o n c lu sio n th a t th e ysu f f e re d f ro m p a st p e rs e c u tio n , n o r t h a t th e yd e m o n s tr a te d a w e ll- f o u n d e d f e a r o f f u tu re p e rs e c u tio n . B ec au se p eti ti o n ers d o n o t m ee t th e stan d ard o f a sy lum , theyalso fa il to m ee t th e m o res t r i ngents t andar d forw i t hhol di ng of r emoval and forr el i ef unde rthe C A T . B as ed on the

f o re g o in g , w e w ill d e n yth e p e titio n f o r r e v ie w .

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