Uthayarosa Paramasamy v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Cookie cutter credibility findings are the antithesis of the individualized determination required in asylum cases. The integrity of the adjudicative process depends on judges reviewing each case on its merits. That integrity is called into question when boilerplate findings masquerade as individualized credibility determinations. Regrettably we have such a case here.

Uthayarosa Paramasamy, a young Tamil woman from Sri Lanka, petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”). The Board denied Paramasamy’s application for asylum and withholding of removal, relying on the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) adverse credibility determination. The IJ’s adverse credibility finding focused on demeanor observations that were worded identically to findings in two other opinions that the judge issued in the same week. Many of the remaining findings are not supported by the record, or are an improper basis for making a credibility determination. Taken as a whole, these deficiencies are so significant that we conclude that the Board’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence.

BaCIíground

Paramasamy testified that she fled persecution by the Sri Lankan…