17-4132 Singh v. Barr BIA Laforest, IJ A205 934 989 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

SUMMARY ORDER RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT=S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY ORDER”). A PARTY CITING TO A SUMMARY ORDER MUST SERVE A COPY OF IT ON ANY PARTY NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.

At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New York, on the 16th day of August, two thousand nineteen.

PRESENT: ROBERT A. KATZMANN, Chief Judge, RICHARD C. WESLEY, RICHARD J. SULLIVAN, Circuit Judges. _____________________________________

MANPREET SINGH, Petitioner,

v. 17-4132 NAC WILLIAM P. BARR, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. _____________________________________

FOR PETITIONER: Natasha J. Mallhi, New York, NY.

FOR RESPONDENT: Chad A. Readler, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General; Greg D. Mack, Senior Litigation Counsel; Aaron D. Nelson, Trial Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. UPON DUE CONSIDERATION of this petition for review of a

Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision, it is hereby

ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the petition for review

is DENIED.

Petitioner Manpreet Singh, a native and citizen of India,

seeks review of a November 30, 2017, decision of the BIA

affirming a March 3, 2017, decision of an Immigration Judge

(“IJ”) denying asylum, withholding of removal, and relief

under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). In re Manpreet

Singh, No. A205 934 989 (B.I.A. Nov. 30, 2017), aff’g No.

A205 934 989 (Immig. Ct. N.Y. City Mar. 3, 2017). We assume

the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts and

procedural history in this case.

Under the circumstances of this case, we have reviewed

the IJ’s decision as modified by the BIA. See Wangchuck v.

Dep’t of Homeland Sec.,

(2d Cir. 2006). We

review the agency’s adverse credibility determination for

substantial evidence. See

(b)(4)(B); Hong Fei

Gao v. Sessions,

(2d Cir. 2018). “Considering

the totality of the circumstances, and all relevant factors,

a trier of fact may base a credibility determination on the

. . . consistency between the applicant’s . . . written and

2 oral statements . . . , the internal consistency of each such

statement, [and] the consistency of such statements with

other evidence of record . . . without regard to whether an

inconsistency, inaccuracy, or falsehood goes to the heart of

the applicant’s claim, or any other relevant factor.”

(b)(1)(B)(iii). “We defer . . . to an IJ’s

credibility determination unless, from the totality of the

circumstances, it is plain that no reasonable fact-finder

could make such an adverse credibility ruling.” Xiu Xia Lin

v. Mukasey,

(2d Cir. 2008); accord Hong Fei

Gao,

.

The adverse credibility determination in this case is

supported by substantial evidence. The agency reasonably

relied on inconsistencies and omissions in Singh’s written

and oral statements, and on inconsistencies between his

statements and documentary evidence. See

(b)(1)(B)(iii); Xiu Xia Lin,

, 166

n.3; see also Hong Fei Gao,

(allowing

reliance on omissions of “facts . . . that a credible

petitioner would reasonably have been expected to disclose”).

Singh initially said at his border interview that Congress

Party members invaded his home, tied him up, and beat him;

3 but he did not mention that incident during his credible fear

interview, in his application, or during direct testimony.

He also testified to being unconscious and hospitalized after

a beating, but he failed to mention the hospitalization during

his interviews or in his application, and his medical record

did not reflect that he lost consciousness.

Singh did not offer compelling explanations for the

inconsistencies and omissions. See Majidi v. Gonzales,

(2d Cir. 2005) (“A petitioner must do more than

offer a plausible explanation for his inconsistent statements

to secure relief; he must demonstrate that a reasonable fact-

finder would be compelled to credit his testimony.” (internal

quotation marks omitted)). His explanation that the home

invasion was too insignificant to mention is undermined by

the fact that this was the first incident of harm that he

disclosed to border patrol officials and by his testimony

during direct examination of relatively minor telephonic

threats by the Congress Party. Singh said that he did not

include the hospitalization in his application because he

wanted his application to match his credible fear interview

record. This explanation was also not compelling as it

demonstrated that Singh’s objective in writing his asylum

4 statement was to maintain a consistent narrative based on a

prior interview rather than to disclose a true and full

account of the alleged persecution he endured.

Although the agency may err in relying too heavily on

the omission of minor medical treatment at least where the

information supplemented, rather than contradicted, earlier

statements, the agency did not err here because the

hospitalization was a significant event. See Hong Fei Gao,

(requiring that omissions “be weighed in light

of the totality of the circumstances and in the context of

the record as a whole”); see also Ming Zhang v. Holder,

(2d Cir. 2009) (holding that the agency may

“draw an adverse inference about petitioner’s credibility

based, inter alia, on h[is] failure to mention” important

details or events in prior statements).

Given the inconsistencies and omissions, the IJ

reasonably determined that Singh’s credibility was in

question. See

(b)(1)(B)(iii). Moreover, the

IJ did not err in finding that Singh failed to rehabilitate

his testimony with reliable corroborating evidence. See Biao

Yang v. Gonzales,

(2d Cir. 2007) (“An

applicant’s failure to corroborate his or her testimony may

5 bear on credibility, because the absence of corroboration in

general makes an applicant unable to rehabilitate testimony

that has already been called into question.”). The agency

did not err in declining to afford significant weight to the

hospital report, Sikh Gurudwara letter, and declarations from

Singh’s parents and two witnesses because the authors were

not available for cross-examination. See Y.C. v. Holder,

(2d Cir. 2013) (“We generally defer to the

agency’s evaluation of the weight to be afforded an

applicant’s documentary evidence.”); see also In re H-L-H- &

Z-Y-Z-,

(B.I.A. 2010) (finding that

unsworn letters from friends and family did not provide

substantial support for claims because they were from

interested witnesses not subject to cross-examination),

overruled on other grounds by Hui Lin Huang v. Holder,

(2d Cir. 2012). Further, as the IJ found,

Singh’s parents’ letters did not mention that Congress Party

members had invaded their home, tied Singh up, and beaten

him, and the hospital report did not note that Singh had been

unconscious.

Given the inconsistencies, omissions, and lack of

reliable corroboration, the adverse credibility determination

6 is supported by substantial evidence. See Xiu Xia Lin,

. That determination is dispositive of asylum,

withholding of removal, and CAT relief because all three

claims were based on the same factual predicates. See Paul

v. Gonzales,

(2d Cir. 2006).

For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is

DENIED.

FOR THE COURT: Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe Clerk of Court

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