Li Yong Cao v. United States Department of Justice & Attorney General Gonzales

421 F.3d 149, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 18843, 2005 WL 2087806
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedAugust 31, 2005
DocketDocket 03-4041
StatusPublished
Cited by343 cases

This text of 421 F.3d 149 (Li Yong Cao v. United States Department of Justice & Attorney General Gonzales) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Li Yong Cao v. United States Department of Justice & Attorney General Gonzales, 421 F.3d 149, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 18843, 2005 WL 2087806 (2d Cir. 2005).

Opinion

POOLER, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner Li Yong Cao petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) entered December 16, 2002, summarily affirming the Immi *151 gration Judge (IJ)’s decision, rendered orally on March 1, 2000, rejecting his claims for asylum and withholding of removal and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“Convention Against Torture”), December 10, 1984, S. Treaty Doc. No. 100-20, 1465 U.N.T.S. 85, denying his motion to remand the case to the IJ for consideration of new and previously unavailable evidence, and ordering him removed to the People’s Republic of China. We find that the BIA’s denial of Cao’s motion to remand was an abuse of discretion, and we therefore vacate the BIA’s order and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Cao’s Entry and Claim

Petitioner is a thirty-two-year-old male native and citizen of China who entered the United States from Canada around August 26, 1999. On or around October 4, 1999, he applied for asylum. An asylum officer denied Cao’s application and placed him in removal proceedings. At his initial appearance before the IJ on December 10, 1999, Cao conceded removability and renewed his asylum application, asserting, in addition, claims for withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture, which is implemented by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, Div. G of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999, Pub.L. No. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681, 2761, 2822-23, § 2242 (1998) (codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1231 note).

Evidence at the Hearing

The hearing continued with the presentation of evidence on March 1, 2000. Cao testified that he entered the United States in August 1999. Cao subsequently said it was 1998, but when the IJ asked, “1998?,” he again said, “1999.” He testified that he married his wife on May 18, 1998, and registered the marriage the following day, obtaining a marriage license dated May 19, 1998. He stated that he and his wife had one male child. Cao offered various documents into evidence to corroborate this family background, including (1) his household register, issued May 3, 1999, providing his address in “Caozhu Village, Tantou Town, Changle City,” listing his wife Xue-Hua Chen and first child Rong Cao as members of his household, stating that he was a farmer, stating that his wife moved into his household “from Kongkong, Lin-nan Village, Tantou Town, Changle City upon married 5/3/1999,” and stating that his son was born on March 9, 1999, and registered as a member of the household on August 19, 1999; (2) his marriage certificate, issued May 19, 1998, stating that he married Xue-Hua Chen, and containing a photograph of them together; (3) his son’s birth certificate, issued March 3, 1999, stating that his son was born on March 9, 1999; and (4) photographs of himself with his wife and son, taken when his son was about one month old.

Cao initially stated that he left China on August 22, 1998. But he then testified: “What, did I say ’98. Actually, it’s ’99. Yes, I made a mistake. It should be ’99.” He stated that he left China because he wanted to have more than one child but was prohibited from doing so by the Chinese family planning policy. He explained that about two months after the birth of his son, in May 1999, family planning officials notified him and his wife that his wife would be required to have an IUD inserted. He stated that it was his belief, based on what had happened to others in the vicinity, that failure to submit to such an IUD insertion could lead to destruction of one’s house or arrest of a close relative. Desiring to have another child, the couple *152 went into hiding on May 8 or 9 in Cao’s wife’s aunt’s village, which was about a half-hour drive away. The couple remained there in hiding for about four months. Cao stated that almost immediately after he and his wife went into hiding, on May 10, family planning officials went looking for them at his house and, failing to find them, removed all of their electrical appliances.

In July Cao’s wife went for a check up at a hospital, which lasted for about fifteen minutes, and resulted in the discovery that she was four months pregnant. Cao stated that this diagnosis was made during a visit to a private doctor. When referred to a statement in his original asylum application, Cao stated that the examination occurred at a public hospital. Also in July, Cao sold a hardware store that he owned in his home village for over 700,000 RMB. After several more unsuccessful visits to their house, family planning officials arrested Cao’s father on August 6, 1999, and announced that a fine of 5,000 RMB was being imposed. Cao’s mother attempted to pay the fine and secure her husband’s release, but officials told her that her husband would only be released when Cao’s wife surrendered herself. On August 8, Cao’s wife surrendered and paid the fine and Cao’s father was released. Later that day Cao’s wife was sent to Changle City Hospital where her fetus was aborted and an IUD was inserted.

On cross-examination Cao acknowledged that his household register states that his wife moved into his house “upon married” on May 3, 1999. Cao explained that this was not inconsistent with the marriage certificate and his testimony that they were married in March 1998, because after marrying in March 1998 his wife continued to be listed on her parents’ household registry as a member of her parents’ household until the new registry was obtained on May 3, 1999. Cao also stated that he had obtained his notarial birth certificate during the period that he was in hiding. Cao stated that he could present no documentation to prove that the forced abortion or IUD insertion had happened, that his wife received no documentation of her ongoing regular visits to the doctor every four months, and that such records are retained by the doctor.

In response to questioning from the IJ, Cao stated that there had been no particular reason for him to obtain a copy of his notarial birth certificate at the time that he obtained it, but that he obtained it only because a friend who worked for the notarial office told him that many people were getting them and so he thought “I might need it in the future.” Cao stated that he was not afraid of being discovered by the family planning officials from whom he was at the time hiding, because the office where he obtained his birth certificate was a separate office in a different location from the office of the family planning officials. The IJ also inquired into why Cao’s household register and his son’s birth certificate listed different ID numbers for him. All other documents were consistent as to Cao’s ID number, and all documents agreed as to his wife’s ID number. Cao stated that he had never noticed the discrepancy and could not explain it.

The Immigration Judge’s Decision

In an oral decision, the IJ denied Cao’s application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture, holding that Cao failed to meet his burden of proof and that his testimony was incredible.

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421 F.3d 149, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 18843, 2005 WL 2087806, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/li-yong-cao-v-united-states-department-of-justice-attorney-general-ca2-2005.