Taiguang Jiang v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Taiguang Jiang, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) adopting and affirming the denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) by the immigration judge (“IJ”). Jiang asserted past persecution and a fear of future persecution on account of his Christian religion, but he was ultimately deemed not credible. The BIA adopted and affirmed the IJ’s denial of relief on adverse credibility grounds. We grant the petition for review, reverse the adverse credibility determination and deem Jiang’s testimony credible, and remand for further proceedings.

The parties are familiar with the facts of this case. Jiang attested as follows: Jiang was introduced to a house church service while in Singapore in 1993 and became a Christian shortly thereafter. During a trip to Japan in 2004, Jiang attended a local Korean church and, upon his return to China, resumed worshiping at his house church. He and members of his church were handcuffed, arrested, and interrogated, for allegedly participating in illegal activities. Police officers stripped…