Cheema

MEMORANDUM

Binder Singh Cheema, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of a final order by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) decision denying asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture relief. We grant the petition and remand for further proceedings.

The BIA erred by adopting the IJ’s adverse credibility finding. Any conflict in Cheema’s testimony regarding how long he was detained after his first arrest does not support an adverse credibility finding for three reasons: first, the impeachment evidence is from an airport interview, see Li v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 959, 962-63 (9th Cir.2004); second, the discrepancy does not enhance Cheema’s claim of persecution, see Singh v. Ashcroft, 362 F.3d 1164, 1171 (9th Cir.2004); and third, the IJ did not consider and address Cheema’s explanation for the discrepancy, i.e., that he meant the tenth month of the year rather than a ten-month detention, see Singh v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 1100, 1105-06 (9th Cir.2006). Further, the testimonial conflict regarding the date Cheema made a speech is a minor inconsistency that has no bearing on credibility. See Quan v. Gonzales, 428…