Xiao Lin v. Holder

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Xiao Lin petitions for review from denial of her claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“CAT”).

1. We review an adverse credibility finding for substantial evidence. Rivera v. Mukasey, 508 F.3d 1271, 1274 (9th Cir.2007). The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) permissibly reasoned that Petitioner’s voluntarily approaching and hiring “snake heads” to smuggle her into the United States contradicted her claim that she fled China because she feared that she would be killed by the “snake heads.” “A single supported ground for an adverse credibility finding is sufficient if it relates to the basis for [the petitioner’s] alleged fear of persecution and goes to the heart of the claim.” Singh v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 1100, 1108 (9th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks omitted).

2. Even if Petitioner were credible, the BIA permissibly held that she failed to demonstrate a nexus to a statutorily protected ground, because she did not suffer harm on account of membership in a “particular social group” within the meaning of 8…