Linhua Shen v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM ***

Linhua Shen, a native and citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), petitions for review on behalf of herself and her husband of a final order issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture relief. She asserts she suffered religious persecution when police arrested her for worshiping in a private home, held her in jail for fifteen *156 days, and permitted her to be abused and tortured by other inmates.

An immigration judge (IJ) determined that Shen was not credible based on her demeanor and inconsistencies in her testimony. While we ordinarily “give special deference to a credibility determination that is based on demeanor,” Arulampalam v. Ashcroft, 353 F.3d 679, 685 (9th Cir. 2003) (internal quotation omitted), the IJ offered no explanation for us to review. See Martinez-Sanchez v. INS, 794 F.2d 1396, 1400 (9th Cir.1986) (rejecting adverse credibility determination based on demeanor when the “record indicates nothing about petitioner’s demeanor”). Moreover, the inconsistencies identified by the IJ do not bear on whether Shen was arrested and imprisoned on account of her religion. See…