Silva-Jacinto v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Silva-Jacinto v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
The Memorandum disposition filed on March 5, 2002 is withdrawn. An amended Memorandum will be submitted for simultaneous filing with this Order.
The panel having amended the disposition, the Petition for Rehearing is DENIED. Judge Noonan voted to grant the Petition for Rehearing.
MEMORANDUM
This petition for review challenges the INS’s rejection of Silva-Jacinto’s asylum petition on the basis that his fear of future persecution was not objectively reasonable. Both the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals found that Silva-Jacinto had a subjective fear of persecution and that his testimony was credible, reliable and consistent.
It is unnecessary for Silva-Jacinto to communicate to G-2 recruiters that he possessed a contrary political belief — such courage under the circumstances would veer toward the suicidal. Indeed, his not telling them the true grounds for his refusal lends credibility to his claim that he feared that they would believe he was opposed to them and consequently kill him.
In short, we hold that on this record, a reasonable fact finder would be compelled to conclude that Silva-Jacinto had a well-founded fear of persecution and that this fear was based on statutorily protected grounds.
PETITION GRANTED.
. This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. Consistency in this context means that the applicant’s testimony at the IJ hearing was consistent with, that is, did not contradict, what was stated in the asylum application. See, e.g., Singh v. INS, 94 F.3d 1353, 1356 (9th Cir. 1996). Here, for example, it means Silva-Jacinto’s testimony was consistent with his application’s claim that the persecution was on account of protected grounds.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
Silva-Jacinto refused to serve in G-2 because of his religious beliefs and his unwillingness to torture and “kill people for no apparent reason.” No evidence was presented that G-2 was aware of these beliefs. The record indicates only that Silva-Jacinto told military authorities that he didn’t wish to serve because “I wanted to return to civilian life. I wanted to live with my wife in Bananera.” G-2 persecution might have been based on simple refusal to serve, not a protected ground.
The case should be remanded to the BIA for further findings on whether such persecution would have been “on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). Neither the Immigration Judge nor the BIA made a finding on this question.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.