Amrat Singh, his wife Tanudeep Kaur, and their minor child P.K. sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) in the United States. They alleged that Singh faced persecution due to his political activities in India. An Immigration Judge denied their application, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissed their appeal. The petitioners then filed a petition for review in the Ninth Circuit, challenging the agency's findings that they were not credible and that they did not meet the legal standards for relief.
The panel unanimously denied the petition, focusing on the standard of review for factual findings. The court reiterated that it reviews the agency's factual findings, including credibility determinations, for substantial evidence. The court examined the reasons identified by the BIA and the Immigration Judge's oral decision. The court found that substantial evidence supported the adverse credibility determination. Specifically, the court highlighted material inconsistencies in the testimony. Singh testified that a political attack occurred inside his home, while his wife and father testified it occurred outside or in the street. When asked to resolve this, Singh suggested his father was old and might have forgotten, while his father suggested Singh might know better. Additionally, medical records indicated the doctor treated Singh in a hospital, contradicting testimony that the doctor came to the home. There were also discrepancies regarding travel dates, with Singh claiming he left India in May 2020, while his brother-in-law stated he left in June 2018, and a marriage certificate listed a foreign address in Barcelona. The court noted that inconsistencies at the heart of the claim carry great weight. Furthermore, Singh testified he visited a party leader to report the attack, a detail omitted from his initial declaration. The court found this omission material because it embellished the facts. The court concluded that under the totality of the circumstances, these inconsistencies and omissions constituted substantial evidence supporting the adverse credibility determination. Because credibility is central to the claim, this determination was fatal to the asylum and withholding of removal claims. Regarding the CAT claim, the court noted that Singh did not challenge the agency's determination that country conditions alone failed to establish a likelihood of torture in his opening brief, rendering the challenge forfeited.
The petition for review is denied, meaning the BIA's order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection stands. The petitioners remain subject to removal. The decision reinforces the Ninth Circuit's willingness to uphold adverse credibility findings where testimony conflicts with documentary evidence or other witness accounts, particularly when the inconsistencies touch on the core of the persecution claim. The ruling also clarifies that challenges to CAT relief based on country conditions must be explicitly raised in the opening brief to avoid forfeiture.
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