Court Opinion

ID: 9628049
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:05:55.71855+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:06:56.915609
License: Public Domain

RAWLINSON, Circuit Judge,
dissenting in part.
I respectfully dissent, as I cannot agree that the evidence in this case compels a finding of persecution. See Lolong v. Gonzales, 484 F.3d 1173, 1178 (9th Cir.2007) (en banc) (requiring affirmance of the BIA unless “the evidence not only supports, but compels” reversal) (citation omitted). As we have repeatedly held, persecution is an “extreme concept,” characterized by “the infliction of suffering or harm upon those who differ ... in a way regarded as offensive.” Kohli v. Gonzales, 473 F.3d 1061, 1070 (9th Cir.2007) (citation omitted). The facts of this case simply do not compel us to fit Ahmed’s claims within that characterization.
The majority opinion cites three bases supporting its holding that a conclusion of persecution is compelled. The first is the killing of Ahmed’s uncle and the beating of Ahmed and his brother. The second is the punishment inflicted on Ahmed as a result of his participation in unauthorized demonstrations. The third is the disappearance of Ahmed’s brother following an argument between the brother and members of an opposition group. I will explain why the majority’s reliance on these bases is misplaced.
1. The Killing of Ahmed’s Uncle
As the majority opinion recognizes, Majority Opinion, p. 1188, Ahmed’s uncle was suspected of collaborating with Pakistan during the Bangladesh war for independence from Pakistan. This fact itself militates against a compelled finding of persecution. We have consistently held that confrontations, even deadly ones, that occur in the course of civil war or insurgency are, unfortunately, expected consequences of civil conflict rather than persecution. See Miranda Alvarado v. Gonzales, 449 F.3d 915, 931 (9th Cir.2006), as amended (“[Ijnjury inflicted by opposing political or other groups on each other during a civil conflict will not necessarily equate to persecution on account of one of the ... protected grounds.”); Ndom v. Ashcroft, 384 F.3d 743, 752-53 (9th Cir.2004) (noting that “the existence of civil war ... by itself, does not establish eligibility for asylum ...” and this court has “found no persecution despite civil strife” when an applicant fails to establish “that his or her persecutor was motivated by one of the five statutory grounds”) (citations omitted). Ahmed and his brother were beaten when they interceded on behalf of their uncle. Despite their good intentions, they were unable to “save” their uncle from the soldiers. However, Ahmed and his brother were beaten, not because of their politi*1202cal views or their ethnicity, but because they interfered with the soldier’s punishment of a suspected enemy collaborator. Although we might abhor the atrocities of war, that abhorrence does not translate into a compelled finding of persecution. See Miranda Alvarado, 449 F.3d at 932 (citing with approval language of a BIA decision holding that harm resulting “incidentally from behavior directed at another goal, the overthrow of a government or, alternatively, the defense of that government against an opponent, is not persecution”) (citation omitted). The IJ’s conclusion that these events did not rise to the level of persecution is supported by substantial evidence as discussed above. See Ibarra-Flores v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 614, 618 (9th Cir.2006) (recognizing that we review for substantial evidence, i.e., “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.”) (citation omitted). The IJ’s finding is also bolstered by the fact that for a period of 18 years — between 1972 and 1990 — Ahmed experienced no problems with the Bengali military.
The majority opinion implicitly acknowledges the weakness of Ahmed’s persecution claim where it states that “the fact that Ahmed was beaten when captured with his uncle suggests that the army imputed to Ahmed his uncle’s political opinion.” Majority Opinion, p. 1195. However, more than a suggestion is needed to countervene the Immigration Judge’s (IJ) finding. Indeed, a suggestion falls far short of the compelling evidence required to overturn the IJ’s finding. Lolong, 484 F.3d at 1178 (acknowledging that the evidence must compel reversal).
2. Ahmed’s Participation in Demonstrations
As an initial matter, it should be noted that the majority opinion’s description of the events in question as demonstrations is somewhat euphemistic. In fact, Ahmed himself testified that the gatherings degenerated into riots, with stones being thrown at police officers. The officers’ efforts to quell these riots did not constitute persecution, but an attempt to maintain the peace. See Fisher v. INS, 79 F.3d 955, 961-62 (9th Cir.1996) (en banc) (holding that Iranian woman failed to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution despite multiple arrests for violating Islamic laws because, without showing selective enforcement, “disproportionately severe punishment” or “pretextual prosecution”, she had merely established that she “face[d] a possibility of prosecution for an act deemed criminal in Iranian society”) (citation omitted).
Adding to the fact that the gatherings became riotous was Ahmed’s testimony that the protestors had been told that any protests must be confined inside the camp rather than extending outside the camp borders. When the protestors defied those orders and when Ahmed made the not-so-veiled threat that “if yon don’t give us the freedom to speak today [then] this very Bangladesh is going to become Pakistan again”, it is not surprising that the police moved to restore order. That the police used force in restoring order does not compel a finding of persecution.
3. The Disappearance of Ahmed’s Brother
The IJ’s finding that the disappearance of Ahmed’s brother does not bolster his claim of persecution is supported by substantial evidence. Ahmed himself testified that his brother was taken, not because of his political opinion, but because the Awami League members “got angry [with his] brother and they had an argument with him, not with the others.” This evidence simply does not compel a finding *1203that Ahmed’s brother was taken away because of his political opinion.
When this case is considered under the deferential standard we must apply, Ahmed’s petition fails to meet the requirements for asylum. See Gu v. Gonzales, 454 F.3d 1014, 1019 (9th Cir.2006) (requiring a showing of persecution to be eligible for asylum). That failure also dooms Ahmed’s request for withholding of removal. See Fisher, 79 F.3d at 965 (holding that “failure to satisfy the lesser standard of proof required to establish eligibility for asylum” necessarily results in failure “to demonstrate eligibility for withholding of deportation”) (citation omitted).
Because substantial evidence supports the IJ’s finding of no persecution, I would deny Ahmed asylum and withholding of removal.