Chun Li v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Chinese national Chun Li petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of withholding of removal, protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), and cancellation of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(1), and we deny the petition in part, grant it in part, and remand for further findings.

Withholding of removal requires a petitioner to show that it is “more likely than not” that he will face persecution on account of a protected ground in his home country. See Zhang v. Ashcroft, 388 F.3d 713, 718 (9th Cir.2004) (per curiam). A petitioner claiming a fear of sterilization in China because of children born overseas must provide evidence of how family-planning officials treat overseas births. See Feng Gui Lin v. Holder, 588 F.3d 981, 985-89 (9th Cir.2009) (crediting a prior BIA decision that rejected the argument that American-born children trigger Chinese family-planning laws). Li gave no evidence he would be subjected to forced sterilization in China as a result of his two American-born children. The BIA’s finding that Li’s fear of persecution…