Matias-Zet

MEMORANDUM **

Jose Matias-Zet, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming the Immigration Judge’s denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, protection under the Torture Convention and voluntary departure. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and grant the petition.

The BIA affirmed the immigration judge’s decision pursuant to its streamlining regulations, so we review the immigration judge’s decision as the final agency action. See Falcon-Carriche v. Ashcroft, 350 F.3d 845, 855 (9th Cir.2003) (“If the BIA streamlines a case, the IJ’s decision becomes the final agency decision, and the regulatory scheme gives us a green light to scrutinize the IJ’s decision as we would a decision by the BIA itself’). “We review factual findings of the IJ and the BIA under the ‘substantial evidence’ standard.” Melkonian v. Ashcroft, 320 F.3d 1061, 1065 (9th Cir.2003).

Because the immigration judge expressly found Matias-Zet’s testimony credible, we “accept the facts given by [Matias-Zet] and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom as true.” Zheng v. Ashcroft, 332 F.3d…