Opinion ID: 789266
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Validity of IJ's Adverse Credibility Determination

Text: 22 In the case at bar, the IJ's decision to deny asylum and withholding of removal under the INA rested largely on the IJ's finding that Singh's testimony lacked credibility. When an IJ determines that an alien's testimony lacks credibility, the IJ must include in his or her decision specific reasons explaining why the IJ reached such a conclusion. Sylla v. INS, 388 F.3d 924, 926 (6th Cir.2004). Moreover, the IJ's adverse credibility finding must be based on issues that go to the heart of the applicant's claim. They cannot be based on an irrelevant inconsistency. If discrepancies cannot be viewed as attempts by the applicant to enhance his claims of persecution, they have no bearing on credibility. Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Singh contends that the IJ erred in deeming inconsistent various statements made by Singh in his asylum application and during the administrative hearing, and that, as a result, the IJ's adverse credibility determination cannot stand. Although this is a close case and several of the grounds upon which the IJ relied are somewhat questionable, we conclude that the evidentiary record does not compel a finding that Singh's testimony was credible with respect to his INA-based claims for asylum and withholding of removal. See Pilica, 388 F.3d at 952 (explaining that an IJ's adverse credibility findings ... `are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary') (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B)). 23 The IJ's adverse credibility determination in this case relies primarily on two key inconsistencies in Singh's asylum application and his oral testimony before the IJ. First, the IJ relied on an apparent inconsistency in Singh's testimony with respect to Singh's involvement in the death of Pal Tandra, a KLF leader. Specifically, the IJ observed that, in his asylum application, Singh stated that he had given information to the police regarding Pal Tandra's whereabouts and that `[t]his information led to his capture, arrest, and death at the hands of the police.' Joint Appendix (J.A.) at 46 (IJ Decision at 10) (quoting Statement of P. Singh at 6). When first asked about Pal Tandra's death at the hearing, however, Singh stated that he was not at all involved. J.A. at 202 (Hr'g Tr. at 159). Although Singh's statement that he was not at all involved arguably could have been interpreted to mean only that Singh did not participate in the actual police action in which Pal Tandra was killed, the IJ's understanding of Singh's testimony to be that he did not participate more generally in Pal Tandra's death does not seem unreasonable, and thus supports the IJ's adverse credibility finding. 24 The second major inconsistency undergirding the IJ's adverse credibility finding pertains to Singh's involvement in the KLF's plan to bomb the Senior Police Detective in Punjab. In his asylum application, Singh stated that he was instructed by the KLF to place a bomb on the home of the Superintendent of Police, Shoab Kumar, the Senior Police Detective. J.A. at 454 (Statement of P. Singh at 5). During the hearing, however, Singh indicated that he was supposed to place the bomb in the officer's room at the police station. J.A. at 186 (Hr'g Tr. at 143) (Q. Where were you told to plant that bomb? A. When they take me to police station, you can put it there. Q. So they wanted you to put it in the police station, correct? A. Yes, in the officer. Q. I beg your pardon? A. Yes, in the officer's room. Q. At the police station? A. Yes.). Although Singh attempted to reconcile these apparently inconsistent statements regarding the placement of the bomb by explaining that the targeted police official lived next door to the police station, 2 the IJ found such an explanation to be lacking. Because the IJ was not unreasonable in finding that Singh failed to explain adequately the apparent inconsistencies in his testimony regarding an event central to his claim of past persecution, we cannot say that, based on the record before us, any reasonable adjudicator would be required to find Singh credible. 25 Although we conclude that the two aforementioned inconsistencies in Singh's testimony furnish the substantial evidence necessary to sustain the IJ's adverse credibility determination with respect to Singh's claims for asylum and withholding of removal under the INA, we also note that many of the other grounds cited by the IJ are quite weak and do little to bolster the IJ's adverse credibility determination. First, the IJ found that Singh failed to explain why his father, the largest landowner in Bhila, was unable to secure passage for Singh's wife and children to come to the United States. J.A. at 47 (IJ Decision at 11). This justification for deeming Singh incredible is unsupported by the record, however, because Singh explained that his father had to pay in excess of $16,000 to facilitate Singh's emigration from India and that his family had to borrow money and sell some of their possessions in order to raise these funds. The record contains no information regarding the market value of Singh's father's dairy farm and other land holdings, and it is unclear what an agent might charge to make immigration arrangements for an entire family. Thus, the IJ's reliance on Singh's supposed failure to explain adequately why his family did not join him in the United States seems misplaced. 26 Second, the IJ also included as a minor inconsistency supporting her adverse credibility determination the fact that Singh testified that he was able to read English but was unable to respond adequately to questions regarding the contents of an affidavit by the current sarpanch of Bhila, which was written in English. A review of the hearing transcript reveals, however, that Singh was asked only whether he can read a little English, and Singh's reliance on the use of a Punjabi translator throughout the course of the hearing provides some indication that his English-language skills may be rather limited. J.A. at 156 (Hr'g Tr. at 102). Moreover, while the IJ stated that Singh appeared to read the affidavit, the hearing transcript does not indicate that Singh was given an opportunity to review the document before being bombarded by questions from the Government's counsel. Ultimately, we fail to see how Singh's proficiency in reading English relates to the credibility of his allegations of past persecution, and thus this minor inconsistency furnishes no ground for deeming Singh incredible. 27 Third, the IJ asserted that the sarpanch's affidavit revealed a very significant inconsistency in that Singh was unable to explain why the affidavit indicated that no criminal case had ever been lodged against Singh, yet Singh claimed to have police reports showing that he had in fact been arrested. J.A. at 48 (IJ Decision at 12). The IJ's reliance on these police reports to impeach Singh's credibility is questionable, however, given that the IJ deemed the police reports inadmissible because they had not been properly authenticated pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 287.6. J.A. at 161 (Hr'g Tr. at 107) (stating in reference to police reports that, technically, the regulations ... say they can't be used for any purpose). Moreover, the statement in the sarpanch's affidavit that [t]here is nothing adverse against [Singh] in the police or no criminal case has ever been registered against him in India may be correct, notwithstanding the purported existence of police reports to the contrary, because it appears that Indian police have not maintained accurate arrest records when investigating Sikh separatists. J.A. at 308 (Sarpanch Affidavit); see J.A. at 375 (U.S. Dep't of State, India Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998) (There are credible reports that police throughout the country often do not file required arrest reports. As a result, there are hundreds of unsolved disappearances in which relatives claim that an individual was taken into police custody and never heard from again. Police usually deny these claims, countering that there are no records of arrest.). Thus, we conclude that the asserted inconsistencies in the sarpanch's affidavit and the unauthenticated police records do not support the IJ's adverse credibility finding. 28 In sum, the IJ's decision finding that Singh lacked credibility does rely on a number of questionable assumptions and conclusions, rendering this a very close case. We affirm the IJ's decision to deny Singh asylum and withholding of removal under the INA, however, because we may reverse the IJ's adverse credibility finding only if any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to do so, and the IJ was not unreasonable in finding Singh's testimony to be inconsistent with respect to his involvement in the death of Pal Tandra and the planned bombing of a police official. See Sylla, 388 F.3d at 925 (explaining that the substantial evidence standard used in reviewing credibility determinations is a deferential standard: A reviewing court should not reverse simply because it is convinced that it would have decided the case differently) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 29