Hachem v. Holder

Summary

The Sixth Circuit denied petitions for review brought by Mohamed Allalen and Kassem Hachem and their family members, who sought immigration relief based on alleged persecution in Algeria and Lebanon. The court upheld the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection, concluding that the record supported the agency's findings regarding credibility, persecution, and changed country conditions. The court also upheld the validity and application of a regulation automatically terminating voluntary departure upon the filing of a petition for judicial review.

Holdings

1. The adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence, and Allalen failed to establish past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution sufficient for asylum.
2. Allalen failed to show that the IJ's questioning, tone, or isolated sarcastic comment denied him a full and fair hearing.
3. Changed country conditions in Lebanon negated any reasonable fear of future persecution, so Hachem failed to establish eligibility for withholding of removal.
4. The regulation automatically terminating voluntary departure upon filing a petition for review is authorized by the governing statutes and is a valid exercise of delegated rulemaking authority.
5. The regulation applied to both petitioners because the BIA's post-effective-date orders granted or reinstated voluntary departure, rather than merely extending an existing departure period.

Questions Presented

1. Whether substantial evidence supported the adverse credibility determination and denial of asylum to Allalen.
2. Whether the IJ's questioning and comments denied Allalen a full and fair hearing under the Due Process Clause.
3. Whether changed country conditions negated Hachem's reasonable fear of future persecution and required denial of withholding of removal.
4. Whether 8 C.F.R. § 1240.26(i), which automatically terminates voluntary departure upon filing a petition for review, was authorized by statute and consistent with the separation of powers.
5. Whether the automatic-termination regulation applied to the petitioners' grants or reinstatements of voluntary departure.

Disposition

writ_denied