Court Opinion

ID: 9496628
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:31:10.166829+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:41.530618
License: Public Domain

FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judge,
Concurring and Dissenting:
I concur in the majority’s decision to grant the petition under the Torture Convention,1 but otherwise dissent.
The BIA’s determination that an alien is not eligible for asylum must be upheld if “ ‘supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole.’ ” INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481, 112 S.Ct. 812, 815, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (citation omitted). “It can be reversed only if the evidence presented ... was such that a reasonable factfinder would have to conclude that the requisite fear of persecution existed.” Id. When an alien seeks to overturn the BIA’s adverse determination “he must show that the evidence he presented was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution.” Id. at 483-84, 112 S.Ct. at 817; see also Ghaly v. INS, 58 F.3d 1425, 1429 (9th Cir.1995). Credibility determinations are judged by the same basic standard. See Gui v. INS, 280 F.3d 1217, 1225 (9th Cir.2002); Cordon-Garcia v. INS, 204 F.3d 985, 990 (9th Cir.2000); de Leon-Barrios v. INS, 116 F.3d 391, 393 (9th Cir.1997). In that area, however, we have added that the determination “ ‘must be supported by a specific, cogent reason.’ ” de Leon-Barrios, 116 F.3d at 393 (citation omitted); see also Gui, 280 F.3d at 1225; Akinmade v. INS, 196 F.3d 951, 954 (9th Cir.1999).
Here Arulampalam’s claim failed because the BIA, in reliance on the IJ’s decision, determined that Arulampalam was not credible. I am unable to say that the determination was not supported by substantial evidence in the record. Moreover, that lack of credibility went to the heart of Arulampalam’s asylum claim. See de Leortr-Barrios, 116 F.3d at 394. Essentially, his manner of testifying, especially his fragmentary way of answering questions and his apparent lack of knowledge of many of the most significant details surrounding his alleged persecution, left his story with a lack of verisimilitude. The IJ could decide that it was made up rather than credible.2 On this record, I cannot *690say that “no reasonable factfinder could fail to find” him credible. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 484, 112 S.Ct. at 817. Thus, the BIA could properly determine that he was not entitled to asylum.3
However, I agree that the BIA erred when it determined that Arulampalam was not entitled to relief under the Torture Convention. The standard under that Convention is not identical with the standard for asylum, and a person’s lack of credibility might result in denial of relief under the latter without absolutely foreclosing relief under the former. See Kamalthas v. INS, 251 F.3d 1279, 1282-84 (9th Cir.2001). The IJ erred when he wholly failed to apply the different standard. I, however, do not join the suggestion that the case be assigned to a different IJ.
Thus, I concur in part and dissent in part.

. United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, G.A. Res. 39/46, U.N. GAOR, 39th Sess., Supp. No. 51, U.N. Doc. A/RES/3 9/46-(l 984).

. Arulampalam asks that we consider IJ harassment as a reason for his impoverished testimony. However, he did not raise that claim before the BIA, so, in my opinion, we cannot consider it. See Rashtabadi v. INS, 23 F.3d 1562, 1567 (9th Cir.1994). He also wants us to make excuses for him which are not supported by evidence in the record. For example, his manner of testifying is because he is uneducated and ignorant; or maybe he was upset; or maybe there were language and cultural difficulties that made him different from other aliens — even those from Sri Lanka; or maybe his family never told him anything about its arrangements for travel, including the rapid (2-day) decision to send *690him on his odyssey. However, as I see it, that is not within our purview.

. Because Arulampalam did not meet the requirements for eligibility for asylum, he was not entitled to withholding of removal either. See Ghaly, 58 F.3d at 1429.