Istifan

MEMORANDUM *

Sarmad Issa Yousif and his wife, El Hakim Anat Istifan, claim they fled Iraq because they were persecuted for being Chaldean Christians. Yousif also claims that he was imprisoned and beaten because he refused to join the Ba’ath party and the Ba’ath Party wrongly accused him of trying to kill a government official. 1 The immigration judge (“IJ”) made an adverse credibility finding based on perceived inconsistencies in Yousif s testimony, and denied petitioners’ claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture relief. The IJ also found petitioners’ asylum applications frivolous. We reverse the IJ’s adverse credibility and frivolousness findings and remand. Yousif does not argue to us that he is entitled to relief under the Convention Against Torture.

We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (b). Because the BIA adopted the findings of the IJ, we review the IJ’s decision as the final agency decision. See Melkonian v. Ashcroft, 320 F.3d 1061, 1065 (9th Cir.2003). Credibility findings are reviewed for substantial evidence. Alvarez-Santos v. INS, 332 F.3d 1245, 1254 (9th Cir.2003). “Under this ‘extremely deferential’ standard, [the court] ‘must…