Opinion ID: 202433
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Challenge to the IJ's Findings of Fact

Text: 9 Zheng next contends that the explicit finding by the IJ—that Zheng's description of his arrest was not creditworthy—is not supported by the record. We review adverse credibility findings under a substantial evidence standard, whereby if we cannot say a finding that the alien is credible is compelled—then the decision must be affirmed. Chen v. Gonzales, 418 F.3d 110, 113 (1st Cir.2005); see 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B). We defer to the IJ's credibility determination where three conditions are met: (1) the discrepancies and omissions described by the [IJ] must actually be present in the record; (2) the discrepancies and omissions must provide specific and cogent reasons to conclude that the alien provided incredible testimony; and (3) a convincing explanation for the discrepancies or omissions must not have been supplied by the alien. Hoxha v. Gonzales, 446 F.3d 210, 214 (1st Cir. 2006) (citing In re A-S-, 21 I & N Dec. 1106, 1109 (BIA 1998)); see Syed v. Ashcroft, 389 F.3d 248, 252 (1st Cir.2004). In order to support a finding that the alien's testimony was not credible, however, the discrepancies normally must pertain to facts central to the merits of the alien's claims, not merely to peripheral or trivial matters. See Bojorques-Villanueva v. INS, 194 F.3d 14, 16 (1st Cir.1999). 2 10 The IJ predicated his credibility determination on the following facts: (i) Zheng's testimony as to the month or day of his arrest was quite vague; (2) Zheng testified that his arrest occurred at 10:00 p.m., yet the arrest notice issued by the public security department states that Zheng was arrested at 10:30 a.m.; (iii) Zheng incorrectly testified that he left China in April 2002, whereas his actual departure date was July 25, 2002; (iv) Zheng testified that he could not remember the details of his arrest without consulting his papers, yet someone subjected to arrest and torture likely would retain more vivid memories of such details; (v) Zheng testified that he had been detained for four days, whereas in an earlier interview with an asylum officer and in his written asylum application, he stated that he had been detained for fifteen days; (vi) when asked about the inconsistency, Zheng testified—for the first time—that he was rearrested after he subsequently failed to report to the police as required under the terms of his post-release probation, whereas earlier he had told an asylum officer that he had complied with the reporting requirement until he left China; (vii) Zheng was unable to recall in any detail the religious information contained in the pamphlets that he assertedly distributed; (viii) Zheng testified that he had been discharged from his job after his release from prison on April 30, whereas the discharge notice was issued six days prior to his release; (ix) the public security department issued Zheng a resident identification card seventeen days after he departed China, which the department would not likely have done were Zheng a fugitive who had failed to check in for his weekly probation reports; (x) Zheng's proffered documentation—such as his job termination notice—appeared to be amateurish forgeries; and (xi) Zheng's demeanor during his testimony reflected not only a lack of confidence, but evasiveness as well. 11 On appeal, Zheng challenges only two of the eleven findings. First, he explains that he did not testify that he was arrested at 10:00 p.m., but simply that he was distributing leaflets at 10:00 p.m., and instead, he testified that he was half way through his distribution when the police arrested him. However, even accepting this proposed interpretation, arguendo, the IJ would have had to infer that Zheng had planned to distribute leaflets for at least twenty-four hours, i.e., around the clock from 10:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. the following evening. More plausibly, the testimony implies simply that Zheng was halfway through his planned distribution at 10:00 p.m. when he was arrested ( viz., Zheng had begun distributing at 5 p.m. and had planned to do so until 5 a.m. the next morning). Considering the implausibility of a twenty-four hour distribution plan, the IJ reasonably could have concluded that Zheng's alternative interpretation was farfetched. Accordingly, we conclude that Zheng's explanation for the discrepancy is unconvincing. See Hoxha, 446 F.3d at 214. 12 Zheng also notes that his testimony— that he was discharged from his job after his April 30 release from prison—was found to be incredible by the IJ, given that the discharge notification was dated six days prior to his release. Zheng correctly observes that he testified that the discharge occurred after his arrest ( viz., during his detention), not after his release. Even if an IJ's credibility determination is based in part on an incorrect analysis of hearing testimony, however, we may nonetheless affirm where we conclude that no realistic possibility exists that, absent the error, the IJ would have reached a different conclusion. See Harutyunyan v. Gonzales, 421 F.3d 64, 70 (1st Cir.2005); see also Liu v. United States Dep't of Justice, 455 F.3d 106, 110 (1st Cir.2006). Notwithstanding the IJ's erroneous depiction of the Zheng testimony concerning the date of his job discharge, the IJ enumerated no less than ten other independent grounds for his credibility determination —all involving conspicuous facts central to Zheng's religious persecution claim—for which Zheng has offered neither adequate nor convincing rebuttal. See Rodriquez Del Carmen v. Gonzales, 441 F.3d 41, 44 (1st Cir.2004) (noting that vagueness and contradiction in material details of an alien's testimony support an adverse credibility determination); see also Huang v. Gonzales, 438 F.3d 65, 66 (1st Cir.2006) (observing the sheer number of other discrepancies in alien's testimony concerning alleged acts of persecution). Consequently, we must therefore conclude (i) that the IJ would have found Zheng's testimony unworthy of credence even if the IJ had correctly analyzed Zheng's testimony concerning the job discharge, and (ii) that the IJ's adverse credibility determination is well supported by substantial evidence. 13 The petition for review is denied.