Case Name: Rony Najib BODAK, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2009-11-02
Citations: 351 F. App'x 198
Docket Number: No. 05-73729
Parties: Rony Najib BODAK, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
Judges: Before: B. FLETCHER, LEAVY, and RYMER, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 351
Pages: 198–199

Head Matter:
Rony Najib BODAK, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
No. 05-73729.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Submitted Oct. 13, 2009.
Filed Nov. 2, 2009.
Cesar Luna, Luna & Associates, San Diego, CA, for Petitioner.
District Director, Office of the District Counsel, Department of Homeland Security, San Diego, CA, Ronald E. Lefevre, Chief Counsel, Office of the District Counsel, Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco, CA, Kristin K. Edison Fax, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Div./Office of Immigration Lit., M. Jocelyn Wright, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Washington, D.C., for Respondent.
Before: B. FLETCHER, LEAVY, and RYMER, Circuit Judges.
The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2).

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Rony Najib Bodak, a native and citizen of Iraq, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' ("BIA") order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge's ("IJ") decision denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence factual findings, Lopez v. Ashcroft, 366 F.3d 799, 802 (9th Cir.2004), and we grant the petition for review.
In his September 13, 2001 decision, the IJ found Bodak had suffered past persecution as a Chaldean Christian, had a well-founded fear of persecution, and that Bo-dak faced a clear probability of persecution if returned to Iraq. The IJ granted withholding of removal, but denied asylum on discretionary grounds. The BIA then remanded the case for the IJ to reconsider his well-founded fear and clear probability findings in light of changed conditions in Iraq. Upon remand, the IJ concluded Bo-dak did not have a well-founded fear of persecution or a clear probability of persecution due to changed circumstances, and denied Bodak's asylum and withholding of removal claims. The BIA adopted and affirmed this decision.
This court subsequently issued two decisions, Hanna v. Keisler, 506 F.3d 933 (9th Cir.2007), and Mousa v. Mukasey, 530 F.3d 1025 (9th Cir.2008), involving Chaldean Christians in Iraq. In both eases, the court concluded the evidence relating to the removal of Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath party did not eliminate the petitioners' fear of persecution as Chaldean Christians. In light of these two decisions, we remand Bodak's claims for asylum and withholding of removal based on his fear of persecution as a Chaldean Christian for reconsideration of whether changed circumstances rebut his presumption of future fear.
In addition, the IJ and BIA erred in ignoring Bodak's separate claims for asylum and withholding of removal based on his fear of persecution due to his political opinion. See Sagaydak v. Gonzales, 405 F.3d 1035, 1040 (9th Cir.2005) ("the [agency is] not free to ignore arguments raised by a petitioner."). We therefore remand these claims for further proceedings consistent with this disposition.
Finally, in light of our conclusions, we do not reach Bodak's challenges to the BIA's denial of his motion to remand.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.