Nai Wei Jiang v. Mukasey

MEMORANDUM **

Nai Wei Jiang, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence findings of fact, including adverse credibility determinations, Li v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 959, 962 (9th Cir.2004), and we review de novo questions of law, Vasquez-Zavala v. Ashcroft, 324 F.3d 1105, 1107 (9th Cir.2003). We dismiss in part and deny in part the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s adverse credibility determination because Jiang’s failure to mention in his asylum application that the police attempted to arrest him after he did not report back to them is a material omission that goes to the heart of his asylum claim, and his explanation for this omission was internally inconsistent. See Li, 378 F.3d at 962-63 .

Because Jiang failed to establish eligibility for asylum, he necessarily failed to meet the more stringent standard for withholding of removal.…