Jian Ping Liu v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM *

Jian Ping Liu, a native and citizen of the People’s Republic of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of his petition for asylum and withholding of removal. Among other bases for his political persecution claim 1 , Liu claims that he was forcibly sterilized under China’s coercive population control policies. The BIA affirmed the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) adverse credibility determination and found an additional basis supporting it. Because neither the BIA’s nor the IJ’s adverse credibility decision was supported by substantial evidence, we reverse the adverse credibility finding, Kaur v. Ashcroft, 379 F.3d 876, 890 (9th Cir.2004). We hold that Liu is eligible for asylum and we grant Liu’s petition for withholding of removal. Qu v. Gonzales, 399 F.3d 1195, 1203 (9th Cir.2005).

The IJ improperly based his credibility determination on testimony regarding the specific date Liu began practicing Falun Gong. Inconsistencies regarding specific dates “that reveal nothing about a petitioner’s credibility cannot form the basis of an adverse credibility finding.” Bandari v. INS, 227 F.3d 1160, 1166 (9th Cir.2000). In fact, Liu’s…