Yang Hong Chen v. Holder

11-3607
Chen v. Holder
BIA
Vomacka, IJ
A089 203 930
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
SUMMARY ORDER
RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY ORDER
FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF
APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT’S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER
IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN
ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY ORDER”). A PARTY CITING A SUMMARY
ORDER MUST SERVE A COPY OF IT ON ANY PARTY NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.
1 At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals
2 for the Second Circuit, held at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan
3 United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, in the City of
4 New York, on the 26th day of September, two thousand twelve.
5
6 PRESENT:
7 JOSÉ A. CABRANES,
8 BARRINGTON D. PARKER,
9 CHRISTOPHER F. DRONEY,
10 Circuit Judges.
11 _______________________________________
12
13 YANG HONG CHEN, AKA LAN CHEN,
14 Petitioner,
15
16 v. 11-3607
17 NAC
18 ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., UNITED STATES
19 ATTORNEY GENERAL,
20 Respondent.
21 _______________________________________
22
23 FOR PETITIONER: Mouren Wu, New York, New York.
24
25 FOR RESPONDENT: Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant
26 Attorney General; Ernesto H. Molina,
27 Jr., Assistant Director; Dana M.
28 Camilleri, Trial Attorney, Office of
29 Immigration Litigation, United
1 States Department of Justice,
2 Washington, D.C.
3
4 UPON DUE CONSIDERATION of this petition for review of a
5 Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision, it is hereby
6 ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the petition for review
7 is DENIED.
8 Yang Hong Chen, a native and citizen of the People’s
9 Republic of China, seeks review of an August 8, 2011,
10 decision of the BIA affirming the October 28, 2009, decision
11 of an Immigration Judge (“IJ”), which denied her application
12 for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the
13 Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). In re Yang Hong Chen,
14 No. A089 203 930 (B.I.A. Aug. 8, 2011), aff’g No. A089 203
15 930 (Immig. Ct. N.Y. City Oct. 28, 2009). We assume the
16 parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts and
17 procedural history in this case.
18 Under the circumstances of this case, we have reviewed
19 the decision of the IJ as supplemented by the BIA. See Yan
20 Chen v. Gonzales, 417 F.3d 268, 271 (2d Cir. 2005). The
21 applicable standards of review are well-established. See
22 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B); see also Yanqin Weng v. Holder,
23 562 F.3d 510, 513 (2d Cir. 2009).
24
2
1 For applications such as Chen’s, governed by the
2 amendments made to the Immigration and Nationality Act by
3 the REAL ID Act of 2005, the agency may, considering the
4 totality of the circumstances, base a credibility finding on
5 the applicant’s “demeanor, candor, or responsiveness,” the
6 plausibility of his account, and inconsistencies in his
7 statements, without regard to whether they go “to the heart
8 of the applicant’s claim.” See 8 U.S.C.
9 § 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii); Xiu Xia Lin v. Mukasey, 534 F.3d 162,
10 167 (2d Cir. 2008) (per curiam). We will “defer to an IJ’s
11 credibility determination unless, from the totality of the
12 circumstances, it is plain that no reasonable fact-finder
13 could make” such a ruling. Xiu Xia Lin, 534 F.3d at 167.
14 Here, the IJ reasonably based his adverse credibility
15 determination on Chen’s omissions in her written
16 application, including Chen’s failure to mention in her
17 application that: (1) the police came to her home after she
18 was released from custody; and (2) she was arrested with her
19 pastor, though her assertion at the hearing that he was sent
20 to a labor camp would have provided objective proof of
21 Chen’s fear of persecution. See 8 U.S.C.
22 § 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii); Xiu Xia Lin, 534 F.3d at 166 n.3
3
1 (holding that, for purposes of analyzing a credibility
2 determination, “[a]n inconsistency and an omission are . . .
3 functionally equivalent”).
4 The IJ also reasonably found that the certification
5 from Chen’s church in China was likely a forgery because
6 such a small church, which Chen testified was composed of
7 eleven individuals, would not likely provide its members
8 with a formal certificate and have a seal. See Siewe v.
9 Gonzales, 480 F.3d 160, 168-69 (2d Cir. 2007); Xiao Ji Chen
10 v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 471 F.3d 315, 342 (2d Cir. 2006).
11 Moreover, Chen did not offer letters from her parents
12 corroborating the police visit to her house, who, though
13 illiterate, could have used a transcriber, or letters from
14 fellow church members in the United States more recent than
15 a one-year-old letter corroborating her church attendance.
16 Given the omissions and discrepancies between Chen’s
17 application and testimony, the IJ reasonably relied on the
18 lack of corroboration to further bear on her credibility,
19 and was not required, as Chen argues, to first identify the
20 particular pieces of missing evidence. Chuilu Liu v.
21 Holder, 575 F.3d 193, 198 n.5 (2d Cir. 2009). As the only
22 evidence of a threat to Chen’s life or freedom, or that she
4
1 was likely to be tortured, depended upon her credibility,
2 the adverse credibility determination in this case
3 necessarily precludes success on her claims for asylum,
4 withholding of removal and CAT relief. See Paul v.
5 Gonzales, 444 F.3d 148, 156 (2d Cir. 2006).
6 For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is
7 DENIED. Any pending request for oral argument in this
8 petition is DENIED in accordance with Federal Rule of
9 Appellate Procedure 34(a)(2), and Second Circuit Local Rule
10 34.1(b).
11 FOR THE COURT:
12 Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe, Clerk
13
14
5