Court Opinion

ID: 9487542
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 12:19:48.812566+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:52:20.764066
License: Public Domain

KANE, Senior District Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. I think the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) should be reversed and the cause remanded. I think the treatment to the petitioner by the BIA is conspicuously flawed and the result is utterly lacking in justice. Moreover, the BIA has violated its own precedent in In re Soleimani, Interim Dec. 3118 (Bd.Immigration App.1989), by requiring petitioner to prove the existence of a foreign law upon which the respondent relies but does not prove.
The Attorney General has discretion to grant asylum to an otherwise deportable alien who qualifies as a “refugee” within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). “[A] grant of asylum requires two steps.” Kapcia *1144v. INS, 944 F.2d 702, 706 (10th Cir.1991). Initially the alien must establish he or she qualifies as a refugee. At this step, the asylum applicant must prove specific facts showing either “past ‘persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.’ ” Id. at 706 (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)). Once the alien shows he or she qualifies for refugee status, in step two, he or she must show that circumstances warrant a favorable exercise of discretion. Id. at 708. In this case both the Immigration Judge (IJ) and the BIA concluded Sadeghi failed to establish refugee status and therefore did not reach whether asylum would be appropriate in the exercise of discretion.
We review the BIA’s determination of refugee status under a substantial evidence standard. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, -, 112 S.Ct. 812, 815, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (“The BIA’s determination that [the alien] was not eligible for asylum must be upheld if ‘supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole.’ ”) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(4)). See also Castaneda v. INS, 23 F.3d 1576, 1578 (10th Cir.1994).
My review of the record differs from that of the majority. I find the BIA’s determination that Sadeghi failed to establish a well founded fear of future persecution if he returns to Iran is neither reasonable nor supported by substantial evidence. At a hearing before an IJ, Sadeghi presented evidence that he has been a member of the anti-government group initially called the Iran Freedom Society and later the National Movement of the Iranian Resistance since he was a student in the 1960s. Cert.Admin.R. at 54, 72-73, 96-99. He testified he coun-selled a fourteen-year-old student not to go to the Iraqi war. Id. at 61. Sadeghi was positive the student reported him to the authorities. Id. at 62. In April 1983, four armed men dressed as national guards came to the school looking for Sadeghi. Id. They said they were there to arrest him because he was against the government and the Islamic revolution. Id. at 68. Sadeghi escaped through a side door, did not return home, obtained an exit permit and escaped to France. Id. at 63-70. Sadeghi farther testified if he returned to Iran, he would be killed immediately for speaking against Khomeini, his government and Islam. Id. at 73-74. He stated he has never broken any law. Id. at 74.
A witness Reza Massihzadeh testified he was a former brigadier general in the intelligence division of the Iranian armed forces. Id. at 108-11. Massihzadeh asserted if Sade-ghi returned to Iran he would be arrested immediately. Id. at 115. Massihzadeh and another witness, Gholam Hossein Mohamma-di, testified Sadeghi’s name appeared on a list of anti-government persons wanted by the Iranian authorities. Id. at 121-25.
Sadeghi also submitted the affidavit of Hassan Khaleghi, “former colonel of Imperial Iranian Air Force Counter Intelligence,” confirming Sadeghi’s name to be on a list of persons wanted by the Iranian government. Id. at 197. In addition, Sadeghi introduced the affidavit of Shahriar Zahed, attesting that he was a student at the school where Sadeghi taught at the time of his attempted arrest. Id. at 204. Zahed witnessed the four armed men “dashing into the teacher’s lounge and calling Ebrahim Sadeghi’s name.” Id. He stated the four men demanded Sade-ghi turn himself in as he was under arrest. Id. at 205. Several teachers protested the arrest and, together with some students surrounded the four men. Id. He confirmed Sadeghi escaped through a side door. Id. He also stated there was no doubt Sadeghi was on a “wanted list” and would be persecuted for his political beliefs if he returned to Iran. Id. Sadeghi finally submitted a letter from NAMIR (The National Movement of the Iranian Resistance), stating all Iranians fleeing the country because of their activities against the regime risk imprisonment and their lives if they return to Iran. Id. at 206. The letter stated further that in the case of Sadeghi, the possibilities of such treatment were very serious considering his activities in Iran and the conditions of his flight. Id.
The Department of State submitted a pro forma opinion stating that based on the allegations made in Sadeghi’s application for asylum and “information about country and *1145other relevant factors available ... through its conduct of foreign affairs,” it did not consider Sadeghi to have a well-founded fear of persecution upon his return to Iran. Id. at 188, 223. The opinion notes “[t]he strength of the application may be affected by your interview or hearing, or additional information subsequently presented by the applicant.” Id. at 188.
The IJ in his decision viewed the decisive issue as “whether respondent’s fear is predicated on a fear of prosecution because of the action he has taken [in opposing his fourteen-year-old student’s fighting in the Iraqi war] or whether it is based on persecution.” Id. at 31. The IJ determined Sadeghi’s evidence to be credible and found he had established a fear of returning to Iran. Id. at 32-83. The IJ found, however, Sadeghi had failed to meet the statutory standard of establishing “a well-founded fear of persecution based on his race, religion, nationality, belonging to a particular social group, or because of political opinion” as enunciated in Matter of Acosta, Interim Dec. 2986 (Bd.Immigration App. 1985). Id. The IJ therefore denied the application for asylum and withholding of deportation. Id. at 34.
The BIA denied Sadeghi’s appeal on two grounds. First, it agreed with the IJ that Sadeghi had failed to establish the Iranian government’s attempt to arrest him was based on an intent to persecute him rather than to prosecute him for suspected illegal activity. Id. at 5-6. As an alternative ground the BIA found weaknesses in the testimony of Sadeghi and his two witnesses and concluded Sadeghi had not presented persuasive evidence to establish either a well-founded fear of prosecution or a clear possibility of persecution in returning to Iran. Id. at 6.
In reaching its conclusion that Sadeghi had failed to prove that his attempted arrest was based on the Iranian government’s intent to persecute him rather than prosecute him for the illegal activity of counselling a fourteen-year-old student not to go to war, the BIA made a number of assumptions. First, the BIA assumed Iran has a conscription law mandating that a fourteen-year-old serve in the Iranian army. The second assumption is that Iran has a law which makes it a criminal offense to counsel a fourteen-year-old not to serve in the army. The third assumption is that we recognize every law, even one that forces children to act as mine sweepers2 or one that punishes a person who counsels a child to refrain from doing so. There has been no evidence produced in support of any of these assumptions.
The majority opinion states: “However, there was no evidence that petitioner’s being against the government referred to anything other than his counselling a student not to fight in the Iraqi war, an act which the BIA reasonably could have inferred was illegal in Iran; or that the governmental forces were doing anything other than attempting to effect a legitimate arrest.” I don’t think there is any basis at all, reasonable or otherwise, upon which that inference could be made or that could justify the presuppositionless conclusion that Iran’s governmental forces attempt to limit arrests to the bounds of legitimacy. Such statements at best are aspirational, not rational. Indeed, if any inference is to be made, it should be based on known facts. It is known that Iran has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child which prohibits nations from permitting or requiring children to participate in fighting wars.3 Thus, the only rational inference is that petitioner’s activity was legal and an attempt to arrest him for legal activity is ipso facto illegitimate.
Sadeghi’s testimony indicates, contrary to the BIA’s assumption, that the children’s departure for war was voluntary. “One day there was a kid named Hassan (phonetic sp.), about 14 years old, this high. He wanted ... *1146he was going to go to war and I asked him where are you going and he told me that I want to go and be martyr for God.” CertAd-min.R. at 61. If the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) wanted to rely on an Iranian law which required fourteen-year-old boys to serve in the army, it had the burden to prove such law. See In re Soleimani Interim Dee. 3118 at 10-11 (Bd.Immigration App.1989) (“Foreign law is a matter to be proven by the party seeking to rely on it”). Requiring the INS to prove a foreign law in support, of its contention that Sadeghi’s fear is of prosecution rather than persecution does not shift Sadeghi’s burden of proving refugee status. To suggest otherwise places on Sadeghi the burden of proving not only his own contentions but those of the INS.4
Assuming, contrary to known facts, the INS were to prove the existence of Iranian laws conscripting fourteen-year-old boys and criminalizing those who discourage them from going to war, there is no evidence in the record that “an actual, legitimate, criminal prosecution” was initiated against Sadeghi pursuant to such laws. See Blanco-Lopez v. INS, 858 F.2d 531, 534 (9th Cir.1988). Moreover, the Supreme Court has looked to the ordinary meaning of the phrase “persecution on account of ... political opinion” and construed it as “persecution on account of the victim’s political opinion, not the persecutor’s.” Elias-Zacarias, 504 U.S. at -, 112 S.Ct. at 816. See Osorio v. INS, 18 F.3d 1017, 1028 (2d Cir.1994). Thus, whether the Iranian government attempted to arrest Sadeghi based on its belief that he had contravened the law, rather than on its political opinion, is not at issue. What is clear is that Sadeghi’s counselling of Hassan implied a political opinion which marked him for persecution by the authorities.
Finally, even if such laws were proven, they would conflict with the “universally held ideal that children should not be involved in armed combat.” See Colleen C. Maher, Note, The Protection of Children in Armed Conflict: A Human Rights Analysis of the Protection Afforded to Children in Warfare, 9 B.C. Third World L.J. 297, 300 (1989).5
“The conscious desire of the international community to protect children has its roots in traditional noncombatant protection, designed to protect the innocent civilian population, as articulated in the Geneva Convention of 1949.” Id.6 In pursuit of this desire, on November 20,1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, U.N.Doc. A/44/736 (1989), reprinted in 28 I.L.M. 1457 (1989). Article 38 of the convention states:
1. States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child.
2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities.
*11473. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces. In recruiting among those persons who have attained the age of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen years, States Parties shall endeavour to give priority to those who are oldest.
4. In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.
Id,., Art. 38 (emphasis added).
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by 166 nations, including Iran! Moreover, it has attained the status of customary international law. Therefore, even assuming the existence of the supposed Iranian laws, to recognize prosecution thereunder as a legitimate éxercise of governmental authority would conflict with fundamental human rights under both the Geneva Convention and customary international law.
I therefore find no substantial evidence to support the BIA’s finding that Sadeghi’s evidence did not establish a well-founded fear of prosecution rather than persecution. Because I reach this conclusion, I address the second ground on which the BIA found Sade-ghi had not established a well-founded fear of persecution, namely because it found weaknesses in the testimony of Sadeghi and his two witnesses. Cert.Admin.R. at 6-7.
Contrary to what occurred in this case, the BIA normally gives great weight to the Id’s credibility determination. Estrada v. INS, 775 F.2d 1018, 1021 (9th Cir.1985) (holding “[b]ecause the immigration judge is in the best position to evaluate an alien’s testimony, his or her credibility determinations are to be given ‘much weight.’ ”) Here, the IJ cut short Sadeghi’s presentation of his case at various intervals, indicating his satisfaction with the credibility of Sadeghi and his witnesses. Id. at 107-08, 130. The IJ even prevented Sadeghi’s counsel from calling other witnesses who would provide corroborating testimony, stating, “Ms. Choi, I’m going to cut off any further examination. Do you have any of the other witness like this? I’m satisfied ... the only question in my mind is a question of resettlement.” Id. at 129-30. The IJ iterated “as far as I’m concerned now, this ... from what I’ve heard, if he goes back to Iran, he’s going to have problems. That doesn’t bother me. But this issue of this hiatus of some five years ...” Id. at 130.
In his oral decision, the IJ stated he had “been impressed with the testimony of the respondent.” Id. at 31. The IJ clearly was so convinced by the evidence presented by Sadeghi concerning his well-founded fear, that he prevented Sadeghi from producing evidence in this regard which may have clarified apparent discrepancies in the evidence noted by the BIA.
The BIA failed to take these factors into consideration when it noted “certain weaknesses in [Sadeghi’s] testimony.” Id. at 6. Rather, the BIA chose to focus selectively on discrepancies which it found “the respondent has not explained,” id, and “questioned the veracity of [Sadeghi’s] two witnesses,” id. at 7. It is fundamentally unfair to any person to be prevented from presenting further evidence because the hearing officer is already persuaded on the issue, and then later to be condemned by the reviewing agency for discrepancies in the evidence which may have been resolved or outweighed by further testimony. Such procedural anomaly is a violation of due process under even the most restrictive definition of the term.
Even accepting the discrepancies noted by the BIA, the evidence presented by Sadeghi as a whole supported a finding of a well-founded fear of persecution. Substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s finding that Sadeghi failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution based on a lack of credibility of Sadeghi and his witnesses.
I therefore conclude Sadeghi met the statutory requirements for establishing refugee status for the purpose of seeking asylum. Accordingly, the next step of the asylum procedure is for the Attorney General to apply her discretion to grant or deny asylum. Nguyen v. INS, 991 F.2d 621, 625 (10th Cir.1993).
*1148Because I reach this conclusion, I address whether Sadeghi met the higher standard for withholding of deportation. See Nguyen, 991 F.2d at 626. To meet this standard “[t]he alien must demonstrate a ‘clear probability of persecution’ with ‘objective evidence that it is more likely than not that he or she will be subject to persecution upon deportation.’” Kapcia, 944 F.2d at 709 (quoting INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 430, 107 S.Ct. 1207, 1212, 94 L.Ed.2d 434 (1987)). I conclude the unrefuted evidence of Sadeghi and his witnesses meets this higher standard. Accordingly, the Attorney General should withhold deportation. See 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h)(1).
I think the final deportation order and denial of application for asylum entered by the BIA should be reversed. What emerges from this record for me is a blatant violation of due process, a clear violation of established precedent and a deep sense that the INS is crunching numbers and ignoring the very purpose of our immigration laws as intended by Congress. I recognize that the INS is confronted with an enormous volume of cases, but the use of a utilitarian calculus, in my view, does not justify a departure from due process of law or the taking of short cuts which clearly endanger the safety and indeed life of this individual.

. As the Immigration Judge noted:
[Sadeghi] relates an instance in which one of his students stated that he was going to the front to he a martyr of God. It was, apparently, during the period of time when the Iranian authorities were using their people, particularly the younger citizens, to clear the mine fields with their bodies and sacrificing themselves. Cert. Admin.R. at 26.

. Iran ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on July 14, 1994. U.N. Committee- on the Rights of the Child Report (Aug. 12, 1994). See text infra.

. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 44.1 a court can conduct its own research on foreign law when an issue is raised. However, here the INS, by not even citing any foreign law text on which it relies, has not made sufficient showing for a court to "invest its limited resources on its own inquiry." See United States v. Klimavicius, 620 F.Supp. 667, 668 n. 2 (D.Me.1985).

. This article addresses the protection of the rights of children during internal and international conflict. Maher notes
[o]ne of the few recognized instances of a [1977 Protocol to the Geneva Convention] violation against children was noted in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the U.N. in 1983. The Iranian actions were specifically addressed in a special report to the U.N. in 1983. The report cited numerous instances where children had been used as soldiers in the war against Iraq. This finding was further supported by statistics on the number of Iranian children seized during combat and placed in Iraquí [sic.] prisoners-of-war camps_ The use of children in combat by Iran was perceived not only as a violation of the Protocols but also as a violation of humanitarian laws articulated in the U.N. Charter.
9 B.C. Third Word L.J. at 315 (footnotes omitted) (emphasis added).

.Article 4(3)(c) of Protocol II to the Geneva Convention forbids the recruitment of children under the age of fifteen into the armed forces. The United States is a signatory to this convention. See Human Rights Watch/Africa Human Rights Watch Children's Rights Project, Easy Prey Child Soldiers in Liberia (1994) at 49-51 (discussing international law regarding the use of child soldiers).