Ikeni

MEMORANDUM **

Patricia Ikeni, a native and citizen of Nigeria, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying Ikeni’s claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we grant the petition and remand with instructions that Ikeni be given a new hearing.

The IJ found Ikeni was not credible, based primarily on Ikeni’s failure credibly to establish her personal identity. During the hearing, however, the IJ erroneously excluded evidence submitted by Ikeni to establish her identity.

During the July 20, 1999 preliminary hearing, the IJ noted Ikeni’s lack of documentation corroborating her identity. The government attorney suggested Ikeni could “get documents related to her employment ... establishing her identification because she worked at United Plastic Industries for seven years.... ” The IJ approved of this suggestion, stating: “That certainly is a very reasonable way to identify who she is and where she had been.”

Accordingly, during her May 17, 2002 hearing before the IJ, Ikeni offered an…