Opinion ID: 77281
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the immigration proceedings

Text: 7 On January 10, 2000, the INS served a notice to appear on Mr. Alim, commencing removal proceedings. The notice charged Mr. Alim with removability on various grounds: (1) under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(A), as an alien inadmissible at the time of entry, for seeking to procure a visa or admission into the U.S. by fraud, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(C)(i); (2) under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(A), as an alien inadmissible at the time of entry, for not being in possession of valid entry documentation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I); (3) under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B), as an alien present in the U.S. for a period of time longer than originally permitted; and (4) under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i), for committing a crime of domestic violence after admission to the U.S. 8 On April 5, 2000, Mr. Alim married another U.S. citizen, Elizabeth. As had Lora, Elizabeth also filed a visa petition for Mr. Alim's benefit. 9 Mr. Alim was convicted on the federal false statements charge on April 12, 2000. The INS subsequently amended its charges against Mr. Alim on May 9, 2000, alleging that he was also subject to removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii) as an alien convicted after admission to the U.S. of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude (i.e., the 1998 domestic battery plea and the 2000 false statements conviction). 10 An IJ held a hearing on September 28, 2000. With one exception, Mr. Alim admitted all of the factual allegations supporting the INS' charges. In order to preserve his claim for cancellation of removal, Mr. Alim denied that he sought to enter the U.S. by fraud. At some time before the hearing, Mr. Alim submitted an application for cancellation of removal, presumably under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b. Mr. Alim also explained that he was planning on filing an application for adjustment of status to that of a permanent resident under 8 U.S.C. § 1255, but had yet to do so because Elizabeth's visa petition was pending. The IJ explained that Mr. Alim did not meet the 10-year continuous residence requirement to be eligible for cancellation of removal. He then returned the cancellation of removal application to Mr. Alim's counsel, without objection. 11 In November of 2000, Mr. Alim filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis in the Florida circuit court where he pled no contest to domestic battery in 1998. He sought to vacate his plea under Rule 3.172 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure because the court had not advised him of the potential immigration consequences. The state responded by filing a short memorandum. The state did not challenge the factual allegations made by Mr. Alim, but asked the court to convert the disposition of the case to a nolle prosequi, 1 which the state court clerk did on March 2, 2001. 12 In early 2002, Elizabeth's visa petition on behalf of Mr. Alim was approved. In March of 2002, Mr. Alim filed an application to adjust his status to that of a permanent resident under 8 U.S.C. § 1255. Elizabeth, however, withdrew her visa petition some time later in 2002. 13 The IJ held another hearing on January 17, 2003. Mr. Alim admitted to being removable under three of the five grounds alleged by the INS. He denied removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i), for being convicted of a crime of domestic violence, and denied removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), for being convicted of two crimes involving moral turpitude after admission. The IJ found that all of the charges supporting removability were sustained by clear and convincing evidence. At the conclusion of the hearing, Mr. Alim said that he would be filing an application for withholding of removal and relief under the U.S. implementation of the CAT. 14 On February 13, 2003, Mr. Alim filed an application for asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3), and withholding of removal under the CAT. At an evidentiary hearing on May 20, 2003, Mr. Alim offered copies of the U.S. Department of State reports on Syria and his own testimony. There was no other evidence presented. After the IJ noted that the application was untimely insofar as it requested asylum, Mr. Alim testified in support of his claims for withholding of removal under § 1231(b)(3) and withholding of removal under the CAT. 15 B. MR. ALIM'S TESTIMONY AND THE IMMIGRATION JUDGE'S RULING 16 Mr. Alim, 39 years old at the time of the May 30, 2003 hearing, testified that he has been a Christian since he was baptized at the age of one, and that his family is Christian. He has no family in Syria to support him financially because Christians suffer extreme discrimination and have trouble finding work on account of their religion. 17 When he was in his early twenties, his cousin, also a Christian, left Syria to fight in a Lebanese civil war on behalf of Christians. A family member told Mr. Alim that his cousin was shot and killed in Lebanon by Muslims because he was suspected of being a spy for Israel. The family member also showed Mr. Alim a picture of the cousin sitting on top of an Israeli tank. Mr. Alim does not know how the family member knew how or why the cousin was killed. Mr. Alim could not produce a death certificate or other physical evidence relating to his cousin's death. 18 When he was a teenager, Mr. Alim joined a group called the Christian Unity Brothers. As a member of this group, Mr. Alim worked at converting Muslims to Christianity. There was a bad point or black point in his school records, and negative reports against him because he was a member of this group. Certain unidentified Muslims also went after him for being an outspoken Christian. While in civilian life, however, Mr. Alim was never arrested, detained, or imprisoned for any reason. 19 Mr. Alim joined the Syrian air force in 1981. Neither his Christian faith, nor his membership in the Christian Unity Brothers, precluded him from serving in the military. Although his superiors did not know he was in a specific group, they did know Mr. Alim was an outspoken Christian. Sometime in 1987 or 1988, while he was still in the air force, one of his friends, also a Christian, was chased and shot by a group of Muslims. 20 Mr. Alim was never detained, arrested, or imprisoned while serving in the military. He was automatically promoted at least once during his eight years of service. He testified, however, that the Syrian military discriminates against its Christian servicemen in job placements. He was therefore denied certain rights and treated badly while serving in the military. 21 In mid-1989, Mr. Alim deserted the Syrian military, and spent approximately six months traveling throughout the country in an effort to evade capture. In 1990, he was able to leave Syria illegally with the help of a friend. He boarded a flight to Bolivia, where he spent five or six months, before using a false Bolivian passport to enter the United States. 22 In 1999, Mr. Alim returned to Syria to visit his ill, 74-year-old mother, and spent 30 days there. He fraudulently entered and exited through Jordan with the help of an old friend, successfully evading Syrian immigration and law enforcement authorities. He first testified that he entered Syria with a false passport, but then said that the passport was not false, but merely misspelled his name. The IJ then indicated that this still constituted fraud. 23 Mr. Alim believed that if removed to Syria, he would be tortured, persecuted, or killed for being a Christian or for deserting the military. He further believed he would be imprisoned in a military prison named Palmera for deserting the military. He testified that prisoners at Palmera do not have visitation rights, cannot communicate with their families, and spend the rest of their lives incarcerated. 24 The IJ issued an oral decision adverse to Mr. Alim. The IJ found that Mr. Alim admitted all of the factual allegations supporting the INS' charges of removability at the January 17, 2003, hearing, and found that Mr. Alim was removable on all five grounds alleged by the INS. The IJ then proceeded to Mr. Alim's claims for relief. 2 25 The IJ did not mention Mr. Alim's application for cancellation of removal, but found that Mr. Alim's application for adjustment of status was abandoned because Elizabeth had withdrawn her visa petition, and Mr. Alim never sought a waiver of inadmissibility, which was required because of his criminal convictions. Alternatively, he ruled that even if this claim was not abandoned, he would deny Mr. Alim adjustment of status in the exercise of his discretion. 26 The IJ denied Mr. Alim's asylum claim under 8 U.S.C. § 1158 as untimely. He noted that Mr. Alim was seeking asylum as a Christian from a predominantly Muslim country, and because he deserted the Syrian military. But he found that this did not reflect any changed conditions in Syria, or exceptional circumstances that would justify its late consideration. 27 The IJ proceeded to analyze the evidence Mr. Alim offered in support of his claims for withholding of removal under § 1231(b)(3) and the CAT. The IJ made an adverse credibility determination with respect to Mr. Alim. He also doubted Mr. Alim's credibility because he had committed multiple acts of fraud both in the U.S. and Syria. He doubted whether Mr. Alim would actually be persecuted or tortured if removed, given that he spent six months in Syria after deserting the military without being captured, and willingly returned to Syria in 1999 for 30 days to visit his mother. Finally, he noted an inconsistency in Mr. Alim's testimony. Mr. Alim first testified that, in 1999, he re-entered Syria with a false passport, but then testified that the passport was valid, and only incorrectly spelled his name. 28 The IJ rejected the § 1231(b)(3) and CAT claims insofar as they were based on the possibility of persecution or torture on account of Mr. Alim's Christian faith. He found that Mr. Alim's case-in-chief was based on his cousin being killed in Lebanon, but found this testimony highly speculative and conclusory. He also rejected the claims because Mr. Alim was never detained or arrested either in private or military life for being a Christian, despite his open practice of Christianity. He further rejected Mr. Alim's CAT claim insofar as it was based on the threat of torture on account of his military desertion and illegal exit from Syria in 1990. He doubted whether Mr. Alim actually deserted the military. To the extent he believed that Mr. Alim deserted the military, he was not convinced that, if removed, Mr. Alim would actually be caught for deserting and leaving Syria illegally. In case Mr. Alim was caught for deserting and leaving illegally, the IJ doubted that he would be punished unreasonably. 29 Mr. Alim appealed the IJ's decision to the BIA. His brief to the BIA stated that the IJ denied his § 1231(b)(3) and CAT claims for withholding removal, and repeated, practically verbatim, the IJ's factual findings. His brief did not mention his application for cancellation of removal. As for his application for adjustment of status, he mentioned that the IJ found it to be abandoned, but did not dispute the IJ's ruling. He argued that the IJ erred in making an adverse credibility finding, and in finding he did not meet the burden of proof for asylum — a well-founded fear of persecution. In his conclusion, he requested that the BIA grant him asylum under § 1158, withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h), 3 and/or withholding of removal under the CAT. The BIA summarily affirmed the IJ's order without an opinion, and Mr. Alim filed a timely petition for review here.