Court Opinion

ID: 9496058
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:17:10.371005+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:21.048035
License: Public Domain

TROTT, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
The majority holds that the BIA violated Manimbao’s Fifth Amendment due process rights by rendering an adverse credibility determination after the IJ failed to make an explicit adverse credibility determination in the first instance. I respectfully disagree, and thus, I dissent.
“When the BIA decides an asylum case ‘based on an independent, adverse credibility determination, contrary to that reached by the IJ, it must give the petitioner an opportunity to explain any alleged inconsistencies that it raises for the first time.’ ” Abovian v. INS, 219 F.3d 972, 978 (9th Cir.) amended by 228 F.3d 1127 and 234 F.3d 492 (2000) (quoting Campos-Sanchez v. INS, 164 F.3d 448, 450 (9th Cir.1999)). In probing for a due process violation, the crucial inquiry is whether the petitioner had “notice that [his] credibility was questioned or that [he] should provide the BIA with explanations for alleged discrepancies in [his] testimony.” Id. at 978 (internal quotation and citations omitted). If provided with such notice, the petitioner must explain all inconsistencies in his testimony, not merely those specified by the IJ. Pal v. INS, 204 F.3d 935, 939 (9th Cir.2000).
In Campos-Sanchez, for example, we concluded that the BIA violated the petitioner’s due process rights. We reasoned:
Campos-Sanchez [ ] had not been advised below that his credibility was questionable, or that any discrepancies appeared to exist; nor was he asked to explain any such perceived discrepancies. Quite the contrary, both the INS and the IJ expressly found Campos-Sanchez to be credible. Thus, Campos-Sanchez had no notice of the inconsistencies perceived by the BIA, and no opportunity to explain them.
Campos-Sanchez, 164 F.3d at 450. In Pal, on the other hand, the IJ’s adverse credibility determination put the petitioner on notice that her credibility was questionable and that she should explain the perceived inconsistencies to the BIA. 204 F.3d at 938-39. The BIA’s subsequent adverse credibility determination, though based on reasons different than those expressed by the IJ, did not violate Pal’s Fifth Amendment due process rights. Id.
What I take from these cases is the unremarkable proposition that notice and the opportunity to be heard satisfy the petitioner’s right to due process. If a petitioner has notice that his credibility was questioned and a subsequent opportunity to explain any perceived inconsistencies, no due process violation arises from an adverse credibility finding by the BIA. In this case, Manimbao had notice that his credibility was questioned, and he had an opportunity to explain the perceived inconsistencies before the BIA. Due process requires nothing more.
In a section of its opinion entitled “Credibility,” the IJ concluded:

*664
Credibility

The testimony of an applicant for asylum, if sufficiently detailed, consistent and credible in light of general condition in his home country, may be sufficient to sustain the burden of proof without corroboration. In this case, the respondent has offered only the statements in his application and his testimony at today’s proceeding. I have several questions with respect to the respondent’s testimony. I do believe that at one point he indicated that three people in addition to Nick Santos were killed. He later changed that to state that they were only wounded.
Also, the respondent could not explain how he knew it was the NPA that attacked and he could also not explain how the NPA knew he was in the Barangay. Also, the respondent indicated that he suffered other problems with the NPA but he did not offer specific details as to what these problems were. He indicated only that his family was “disturbed.” The respondent has offered, therefore, this testimony that his family was disturbed as the only threat against him since 1983. Also, based on the inconsistencies and the lack of details, I would find that the respondent’s testimony in itself was not sufficiently detailed, plausible and complete to stand alone as adequate support for his claim.
This record abundantly reflects that the IJ’s questioning of Manimbao’s credibility put him on notice that his credibility would be an issue before the BIA. Specifically, the IJ warned that Manimbao’s testimony was not sufficiently detailed or plausible. “Plausible” means “superficially worthy of belief: CREDIBLE,” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1736 (1976). The IJ also identified numerous inconsistencies upon which he based this credibility finding. See Pal, 204 F.3d at 939, 939 n. 3 (noting Pal had been put on notice that her credibility was in doubt by the IJ as well as an INS assessment officer who questioned her veracity).
Moreover, Manimbao understood the IJ’s remarks to call his veracity into question. In his Brief in Support of Appeal before the BIA, Manimbao argued at length that the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was not supported by substantial evidence. He explained that any perceived inconsistencies resulted from nervousness and mistake. Manimbao knew all along that his credibility was in question, and he attempted to explain the perceived inconsistencies before the BIA.
In this context, due process required only notice and an opportunity to be heard on the issue of credibility. Manimbao got the process he was due.