Bahou

MEMORANDUM *

Mushtaq G. Bahou, a native and citizen of Iraq, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. 1 The parties are familiar with the facts of this case, and we repeat them only to the extent necessary to understand our disposition. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We grant the petition and remand.

Bahou is a Chaldean Christian who lived in Iraq prior to arriving in the United States. He testified that both he and his family members became targets for persecution on account of their religion at the hands of Ba’ath Party officials. The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) found that Bahou’s testimony was not credible. Bahou appealed to the BIA. While the appeal was pending, the BIA sua sponte remanded the matter to the IJ to consider changed country conditions. On remand, the IJ affirmed his earlier denial based solely on his original adverse credibility finding. The IJ did not conduct a hearing or allow the parties to submit briefs on changed country conditions. The case then returned to the BIA on certification from the IJ. The BIA adopted the IJ’s adverse credibility finding. The…