Background
Petitioners Jocelyn Noel, his wife, and their three minor children, who are natives and citizens of Haiti and Brazil, sought asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. The Immigration Judge denied their applications, and the Board of Immigration Appeals summarily affirmed the decision.
The court’s reasoning
The court found that petitioners did not exhaust their legal claims regarding Convention Against Torture relief and withholding of removal because they did not file a timely appeal brief before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Regarding the asylum claim, the court determined that substantial evidence supported the Immigration Judge’s adverse credibility determination. This determination was based on inconsistencies between the petitioner’s testimony and documentary evidence concerning political party affiliations, the date of a political attack, and the spelling of the petitioner’s name in a letter from a senator.
What it means going forward
The petition for review is denied, and the stay of removal remains in place only until the mandate issues.
Podcast (federal-narrative-summaries): Play in new window | Download