Summary
The Sixth Circuit denied Amadou Sy’s petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The court held that substantial evidence supported the agency’s adverse credibility determination based on inconsistencies, implausible similarities in Sy’s accounts of arrest, and insufficient corroboration. The court also upheld the finding that Sy had not established a pattern or practice of persecution against black Fulanis in Mauritania.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether substantial evidence supported the agency's adverse credibility determination.
- Whether substantial evidence supported the Board's finding that black Fulanis in Mauritania do not face a pattern or practice of persecution.
- Whether the adverse credibility determination was fatal to Sy's claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection.
Holdings
- The agency's determination that Sy was not credible was supported by substantial evidence.
- The adverse credibility determination was fatal to Sy's claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection.
- Substantial evidence supported the Board's finding that black Fulanis in Mauritania do not face a pattern or practice of persecution.
Key quotations
“That means the Board’s determinations must “stand unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to disagree.”” (5)
“This inconsistency alone provides substantial evidence to support the determination that Sy wasn’t credible.” (5)
“And that finding is “fatal” to Sy’s petitions for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection.” (7)
“After all, “persecution is an extreme concept that does not include every sort of treatment our society regards as offensive.”” (8)
Factual background
Amadou Sy, a Mauritanian national and member of the Fulani ethnic group, entered the United States unlawfully and was placed in removal proceedings. He claimed that Mauritanian police repeatedly arrested, detained, beat, and tortured him because he was black and had participated in protests, but his written application omitted alleged persecution of his brothers and his testimony described nearly identical arrests with inconsistencies concerning his passport and departure from Mauritania. Sy provided no testimony or declaration from a brother who allegedly witnessed several arrests and no medical records from alleged hospital visits. The immigration judge and Board found him not credible and determined that black Fulanis in Mauritania faced discrimination, not a pattern or practice of persecution.
Procedural history
Sy admitted removability and applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. The immigration judge denied relief after finding that Sy was not credible and that he failed to establish a pattern or practice of persecution against black Fulanis in Mauritania. The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed his appeal, and the Sixth Circuit denied his petition for review.