Court Opinion

ID: 9492685
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:47:11.628849+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:25.791047
License: Public Domain

ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
We owe the Board considerable deference, but when the Board has misapprehended or mischaracterized material evidence, then it is our responsibility to set the record straight and return the case to the Board for further consideration. See, e.g., Kuhai v. I.N.S., 199 F.3d 909, 914 (7th Cir.1999); see generally Universal Camera Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 340 U.S. 474, 490, 71 S.Ct. 456, 466, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951).
Petrovic sought to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in part by showing that his father and sister have been subject to ethnically- and religiously-motivated abuse. Evidence that one’s family members have been mistreated is widely accepted as proof that the petitioner himself would likely face persecution in the event he is returned to his home country. See, e.g., Ananeh-Firempong v. I.N.S., 766 F.2d 621, 627 (1st Cir.1985) (Breyer, J.) (collecting cases). Petrovic testified that his father and sister both had been harassed by their Croatian co-workers in the course of their employment with the postal service and that they ultimately were discharged — in part because of their religion and in part because they are Serbian. R. 75; see also R. 125. He also recounted an incident in which his father was beaten by a group of Croatian boys while riding a public bus. According to *1039Petrovic, the boys singled his father out “[o]nly because he was Serbian, [and] because of his religion.” R. 76; see also R. 125. When his father reported the incident to the police, they laughed him off and refused to file a report — again, “[o]nly because he was not Croatian.” R. 77; see also R.125. The Board dismissed this evidence with a single sentence: “The firings of the father and sister from their postal worker jobs may be attributable to an employment-related dispute, and the beating of the father may be attributable to random violence or criminal activity by juveniles.” R. 4 (emphasis mine). Not one iota of evidence in the record supports the Board’s reasoning. On the contrary, Petrovic testified unequivocally and without contradiction that his father and sister were fired because of their religion and nationality, and that his father was attacked (and the authorities refused to investigate) for the same reasons. His testimony in this respect was not challenged on cross-examination. Moreover, the Immigration Judge found his testimony credible overall. R. 45. The Board’s suggestion that there might be other explanations for the treatment of Petrovic’s father and sister other than the reasons he cited thus amounts to nothing more than unfounded speculation. Cf. Sayaxing v. I.N.S., 179 F.3d 515, 522 (7th Cir.1999).
Petrovic’s account of what happened to his family members did not necessarily compel the Board to find him eligible for asylum or withholding of deportation. However, we cannot be confident that the Board has appropriately exercised its discretion when it has, without justification, dismissed evidence that has a significant bearing on the likelihood that the petitioner will face persecution if returned to his homeland. Because this aspect of the Board’s analysis lacks the support of substantial evidence, I would remand the case to the Board for a fresh look at the record. See Kuhai, 199 F.3d at 914.