Jing Feng Liang v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Jing Feng Liang v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion of the Court
SUMMARY ORDER
ON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the petitions for review of the orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals be and they hereby are DENIED.
Petitioner Jing Feng Liang petitions the court, pursuant to § 106(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a) (repealed 1996),
Liang was the only witness at his hearing before the IJ, where he testified generally in support of his asylum application. At the conclusion of the hearing, the IJ denied Liang’s application and ordered Liang deported. The IJ found that Liang’s testimony “has not been particularly plausible or consistent as to lead me to believe that his activities were in fact such as he had indicated.” The IJ discussed what it perceived as several inconsistencies and implausibilities in Liang’s testimony. For example, although in his written asylum application Liang had stated that he “let go” the pregnant woman whom he was transporting, at the hearing Liang testified that he brought her to another village after the car he was driving broke down en route to the hospital. Moreover, although in his written application Liang stated that “she and her husband had resisted” when members of the birth-control team arrived to take her away, at the hearing Liang testified that the woman’s husband was not at home.
Liang appealed to the BIA, which dismissed the appeal in February 2000. The BIA agreed with the IJ’s conclusions that Liang’s “testimony and evidence lacks credibility” and that “he has failed to sustain his burden of proof in these proceedings.” Liang moved for reconsideration, which was denied in March 2002. On appeal, Liang argues that the IJ and the BIA erred in concluding that he had failed to satisfy his burden of proof and by failing explicitly to discuss the authenticity of documentation he submitted in support of his application.
When considering a petition for review of a BIA decision, the scope of our inquiry is “exceedingly narrow.” Melgar de Torres v. Reno, 191 F.3d 307, 313 (2d Cir. 1999). We accept the BIA’s factual determinations so long as they are supported by substantial evidence, giving particular deference to credibility determinations, see Montero v. INS, 124 F.3d 381, 386 (2d Cir. 1997), and reverse “only if no reasonable fact-finder could have failed to find the past persecution or fear of future persecution necessary to sustain the petitioner’s burden.” Diallo v. INS, 232 F.3d 279, 287 (2d Cir. 2000), see also Alvarado-Carillo v. INS, 251 F.3d 44, 49 (2d Cir. 2001).
In this case, the discrepancies between Liang’s written application and testimony before the IJ could reasonably have led a fact-finder to conclude that Liang did not testify credibly. Liang’s case for asylum rests essentially on a single event: the alleged freeing of a woman he was transporting for forced abortion. But, as previously noted, the account he gave of this event in his written application differed substantially from his testimony before the IJ. Consequently, the finding of Liang’s lack of credibility is supported by substantial evidence.
Nor are we persuaded by Liang’s contention that the IJ and the BIA erred
The petitions for review of the orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals are DENIED.
. Liang’s petition is governed by the transitional rules established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Pub. L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009. See Diallo v. INS, 232 F.3d 279, 282 n. 1 (2d Cir. 2000) (applying transitional rules when deportation proceedings began before April 1, 1997, and the order of deportation became final after October 30, 1996). Under the transitional rules, IIRIRA’s appeal of INA § 106 is not effective and Liang may petition for review thereunder. See IIRI-RA § 309(c)(4)(A).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jing Feng LIANG, Kam Fung Leung, also known as Jing Feng Liang v. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
- Status
- Published