The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit refused to allow an Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals to issue an adverse credibility finding (meaning conclude that an applicant for Asylum & related protections was not believable) based on the facts of someone else’s case.
InJian Tao Lin v. Holder, No. 09-1269 (July 12, 2010), the Fourth Circuit stated:
“Predicating an adverse credibility determination on unrelated facts derived from another case is manifestly contrary to law and constitutes an abuse of discretion. SeeHussain v. Gonzales, 477 F.3d 153, 155 (4th Cir. 2007) (explaining that BIA “abuses its discretion when it . . . distorts or disregards important aspects of the alien’s claim. Put simply, in making a credibility finding, the agency is obliged to understand the pertinent facts and not be confused by unrelated, prejudicial material. Anything less is simply unacceptable”[.]
Ricky Malik, Esq.
