Ghafar

Ghafar v. Holder

Good Law
321 F. App'x 711
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitApril 14, 2009No. 05-76923California319 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Abdul Ghafar, a native and citizen of Pakistan, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of his appeal of an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We deny the petition for review.

The facts of the case are known to the parties, and we do not repeat them below.

Ghafar first argues that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding is not supported by substantial evidence. We disagree. Ghafar’s testimony regarding the number of people who attacked him at a rally in Pakistan is inconsistent with the declaration he submitted in support of his asylum application. This inconsistency was relied upon by the IJ and goes to the heart of Ghafar’s claims for asylum and withholding of removal. The record does not compel the conclusion that Ghafar testified credibly. See, e.g., Kohli v. Gonzales, 473 F.3d 1061, 1071 (9th Cir.2007); Wang v. INS, 352 F.3d 1250, 1259 (9th Cir.2003) (“So long as one of the identified grounds is supported by substantial evidence and goes to the heart of [petitioner’s] claim of persecution, we are bound to accept the IJ’s adverse credibility…

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