Opinion ID: 795246
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Guo's Explanation for the Failure to Register His Third Child

Text: 33 At his 1992 hearing, Guo testified that he was not able to register his third child with the government. Tr. of Asylum Hr'g, Mar. 25, 1992, at 25. At his 1999 hearing, Guo's counsel asked Guo to confirm this earlier testimony. Tr. of Asylum Hr'g, Mar. 9, 1999, at 46. Guo responded, Yes that I indicate in—if I want to be re-register I must pay the fine, before I pay the fine I was not able to register. Id. Based on this brief exchange, the IJ stated: 34 [Guo] was asked why he did not have his third child entered on his family record. His response was this child was not registered because he was waiting to pay a fine. However, this defies logic because [Guo] was no longer hiding this child. The government officials clearly knew, assuming [Guo] is to be believed, of the birth of this third child, and therefore there was no reason for him not to have taken the steps necessary for registering this child. 35 Oral Decision of the IJ, Mar. 9, 1999, at 6. 36 The IJ's statement that Guo's explanation for why he had not registered his third child with the government defies logic because [Guo] was no longer hiding this child is without support in the record. As noted, Guo explained that he was not able to register his third child because he had not paid the fine that had been imposed on him. We find no testimony or documentation in the record—nor does the government, in its brief to us, point to any—suggesting that Guo's explanation was false or implausible. The IJ's analysis thus appears to have been bald speculation. Xiao Ji Chen, 434 F.3d at 158. It therefore cannot support his adverse credibility determination. 37