Efra Deh, a Mauritanian national, entered the United States without valid documents and sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. He claimed he was forced into slavery and tortured by Mauritanian authorities. During three immigration hearings, Deh provided testimony using court-appointed interpreters who spoke his native language, Fulani. The immigration judge denied his petitions, finding Deh not credible due to significant inconsistencies between his asylum application, his testimony, and his travel history. For instance, Deh claimed in his application that police had arrested and tortured him, but admitted at his hearing that he was never arrested. Later, Deh moved to reopen his proceedings after the interpreter from his third hearing was disqualified by the government. Deh argued this disqualified interpreter 'tainted' his testimony because he allegedly spoke a different dialect of Fulani, preventing Deh from presenting his case fully. The immigration judge denied the motion, noting Deh never objected to the interpretation at the time. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed, and Deh petitioned the Sixth Circuit for review.
The Sixth Circuit reviewed the denial of the motion to reopen for abuse of discretion and due process claims de novo. First, the court addressed the motion to reopen. Under federal regulations, a motion to reopen requires evidence that is material and was not available at the former hearing. The court held that Deh failed to meet this burden because he could not identify any specific mistranslations. Deh's affidavit merely stated he had 'some issues with understanding' the interpreter and feared a dialect difference, but he did not explain what specific information was lost or how it would change the outcome. The court noted that Deh could have obtained the hearing transcript and audio to identify errors with a different interpreter but failed to do so. Furthermore, the court emphasized that Deh's lack of credibility was established by his first two hearings, independent of the third. The inconsistencies regarding his residence, the nature of his labor, and his arrest history were sufficient to support the denial regardless of the third hearing's interpretation. Second, regarding the due process claim, the court reiterated that an alien is entitled only to a 'full and fair hearing.' A violation occurs only if the proceedings are so fundamentally unfair that the alien was prevented from reasonably presenting their case. The court found no violation because Deh never objected to the interpreter's accuracy during the hearing, meaning the judge had no reason to know of any defect. Since the interpreter was only disqualified after the proceedings concluded, the judge could not have corrected the issue. Finally, the court dismissed Deh's claim regarding the Board's failure to sua sponte reopen, noting that the Sixth Circuit lacks jurisdiction to review such refusals unless specific legal standards are raised, which Deh failed to do.
The decision reinforces the high bar for reopening immigration proceedings based on interpreter errors. Petitioners must provide concrete evidence of specific mistranslations and demonstrate how those errors affected the outcome. Generalized claims of dialect differences or lack of understanding are insufficient. The ruling also clarifies that due process violations regarding interpretation require a showing that the judge was aware of the incompetence and failed to act. The Board of Immigration Appeals' decision denying Deh's asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection remains in effect.
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