NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 25a0479n.06
No. 24-3867
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Oct 20, 2025 ) KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk MD. SUNDOR ALI, et al., ) Petitioners, ) ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW OF v. ) A DECISION OF THE BOARD ) OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS PAMELA BONDI, Attorney General, ) Respondent. ) OPINION ) )
Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; CLAY and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges.
CLAY, Circuit Judge. Petitioners, all native citizens of Bangladesh, applied for asylum
and withholding of removal under sections 208(a) and 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(a), 1231(b)(3), and protection from removal under the
Convention Against Torture. An immigration judge denied Petitioners’ application after finding
that Petitioner Md. Sundor Ali provided non-credible testimony at his hearing. The Board of
Immigration Appeals affirmed the immigration judge and issued a final removal order. Petitioners
now seek review of the Board’s decision. Because we find that the IJ’s adverse credibility
determination was appropriate, we DENY the petition for review.
I. BACKGROUND
Petitioners Md. Sundor Ali, Farjana Hasan Mili, and their two small children are citizens
of Bangladesh who immigrated to the United States in September of 2022. That same month, the
Department of Homeland Security served Petitioners with Notices to Appear, charging them as No. 24-3867, Ali, et al. v. Bondi
subject to removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as aliens present in the United States
without having been admitted or paroled after inspection.
On March 13, 2023, Mr. Ali filed an I-589 Application for Asylum, listing his wife and
children as derivative beneficiaries. In addition to asylum, he indicated that he was seeking
protection from deportation under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), stating that he had
been “threatened several times” by the ruling political party in Bangladesh, the Awami League,
due to his “active membership in the Liberal Democratic Party of Bangladesh,” an opposition
group. Admin. Rec., ECF No. 9-4, 77. He reported that members of the Awami League had
previously “beat [him] to the point of losing consciousness” and threatened his family members.
Id. He also stated his belief that, if he returned to Bangladesh, the Awami League would attack
him, and the police would arrest him if he reported the attacks.
1. Hearing Before the Immigration Judge
Petitioners were originally scheduled to have their merits hearing on September 29, 2023.
But at that hearing, they sought to admit several pieces of new evidence, including a newspaper
article and hospital discharge papers that related to alleged attacks Mr. Ali suffered at the hands of
the Awami League. The immigration judge admitted the evidence to give Mr. Ali “the opportunity
for…a full and fair hearing,” but continued the hearing so that the government would have time to
review the new evidence. Admin. Rec., ECF No. 9-3, 18.
The parties convened on January 12, 2024, for Petitioners’ rescheduled hearing. Petitioners
offered several pieces of documentary evidence in support of the petition, including: (1) a personal
statement in which Mr. Ali recounted the persecution he allegedly suffered from the Awami
League; (2) a newspaper article about an attack that Mr. Ali allegedly experienced in February
2022; (3) medical records indicating that Mr. Ali had been hospitalized following that alleged
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attack; and (4) several governmental reports and scholarly articles describing the political
conditions in Bangladesh.
At the hearing, Mr. Ali testified that he feared persecution from members of the Awami
League due to his Liberal Democratic Party (“LDP”) membership. He stated that, starting in 2019,
Awami League members—and in particular its chairman Hiron Mia—repeatedly threatened and
harassed him in an effort to make him leave the LDP and join the Awami League.
Mr. Ali testified that he suffered two attacks at the hands of Awami League members due
to his LDP participation. Cross examination revealed several inconsistencies in his stories about
the attacks. The first alleged attack occurred on December 15, 2021, in a local marketplace when
six members of the Awami League approached and began kicking and punching Mr. Ali.
During cross examination, Mr. Ali testified that Hiron Mia was not present at this attack.
This contradicted Mr. Ali’s submitted personal statement, which said that Mr. Mia was present.
When asked to explain the inconsistency, Mr. Ali indicated that he did not understand the question
and asked for clarification on the government’s line of questioning several times before eventually
stating that he “made a mistake” in his testimony and had forgotten that Mr. Mia was there. Admin.
Rec., ECF No. 9-3, 83–90.
During the government’s cross about this inconsistency, Mr. Ali’s counsel interjected,
stating: “[A]t this point, I think it’s obvious my client is suffering from sleep deprivation because
he’s barely keeping his eyes open.” Id. at 91. Counsel clarified that she was not asking for a
continuance, but wanted it noted that his alleged sleep deprivation was “probably affecting his
memory.” Id. The IJ responded: “[I]f we're putting that on the record, I have to say the court’s
observation” is that “[h]e has not been responsive to these questions and slow to respond, but he's
sitting and appears to be awake.” Id.
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The second alleged attack occurred on February 21, 2022, when ten of Mr. Mia’s “people”
beat Mr. Ali with hockey and bamboo sticks due to his continued participation in the LDP. Id. at
52–53. According to Mr. Ali, he lost consciousness during the beating and awoke in a hospital.
Mr. Ali again testified that Mr. Mia was not present at this attack, which again contradicted his
personal statement. When pressed about this inconsistency, Mr. Ali stated that the attack happened
at Mr. Mia’s “commandment,” but that Mr. Mia was not present. Id. at 96. He also stated that
when he tried to report the beating to the police, they refused to accept a complaint against the
Awami League and threatened to put him in jail if he tried to make another report. During this
line of questioning, Mr. Ali repeatedly said he didn’t understand the questions and asked for
clarification.
Mr. Ali also discussed the newspaper article that he submitted in support of his narrative
of the February attack. Mr. Ali said that the story came to be published after his coworker “let the
newspaper know” about that the attack. Id. at 101. He stated that the coworker was interviewed
by the newspaper for the story. When asked why the newspaper article said that Mr. Mia was
present at the attack, in contradiction of Mr. Ali’s testimony, Mr. Ali repeated that the “incident
happened by command of him.” Id.
On re-direct at a hearing held on March 27, 2024, Mr. Ali’s counsel asked him several
questions that related to his contradictory testimony about the February attack. He testified that
although his Bengali personal statement was accurate, there was an “issue” with the English-
translated version of the statement. Id. at 120. Specifically, he claimed that the Bengali version
said that he was attacked by order of Hiron Mia, but the English version incorrectly stated that Mr.
Mia was present at the attack. He testified that he noticed this mistake when he “went home” and
“reviewed the Bengali one.” Id. at 126.
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The government objected to the foundation for this line of testimony because the personal
statement said that it was written down in English by a translator from Mr. Ali’s verbal statements
made in Bengali. The government inquired how there could be a “correct” Bengali statement when
the translated version indicated that there had never been a written Bengali statement in the first
place. In response, Mr. Ali said: “When I went home, I found a document that was in Bengali,”
but offered no additional explanation. Id. at 128.
Mr. Ali also recounted how, on March 17, 2022, Hiron Mia went to his in-law’s home,
threatened his wife and children, and attacked his in-laws. Although Mr. Ali testified on direct
examination that Mr. Mia had attacked both his father-in-law and his mother-in-law, on cross he
stated that his father-in-law had passed away, so Mr. Mia only attacked his mother-in-law.
Mr. Ali claimed that he had been an active member of the LDP since 2018, but on cross
examination, he was unable to accurately answer some of the government’s questions about the
party. When asked how many people belonged to the LDP in his native region of Sylhet, Mr. Ali
said, “close to 2 million.” Id. at 74. He also stated that the LDP was the main opposition party to
the Awami League. However, the country reports submitted by Petitioners stated that the
Bangladesh National Party (BNP) was actually the largest opposition party and estimated that LDP
membership was less than 5,000 total. During redirect examination, Mr. Ali stated that he “didn’t
quite understand” and that he made a mistake when he said that LDP was the main opposition
party.
2. Immigration Judge’s Denial of Petitioners’ Application
After testimony concluded, the IJ told Mr. Ali that he was “concerned that [Mr. Ali was]
not telling…the truth” and gave him the opportunity to correct any false testimony. Id. at 129.
Mr. Ali said that he had provided no false testimony. During closing statements, Mr. Ali’s counsel
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emphasized that Mr. Ali was “his own worst enemy” due to his nervousness and described him as
a “hopeless” witness. Admin. Rec., ECF No. 9-4, 2–3. According to counsel, his testimony was
true, just presented poorly. The government’s closing statement emphasized its position that Mr.
Ali had “submitted a frivolous asylum application.” Id. at 4.
The IJ denied Petitioners’ application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection
under the Convention Against Torture. He noted that, if he had found Mr. Ali’s claims of
persecution credible, Petitioners would have alleged a plausible claim for asylum. However, the
IJ determined that Mr. Ali’s demeanor was “evasive” and his account lacked credibility due to its
systemic inconsistencies. Admin. Rec., ECF No. 9-2, 102. The IJ was particularly concerned
about Mr. Ali’s claim that he consulted a written Bengali version of his personal statement when
the English translation stated that it had been translated from Mr. Ali’s verbal statements. The IJ
highlighted Mr. Ali’s inconsistent statements regarding Hiron Mia’s presence at his alleged
assaults and whether his father-in-law had been attacked. The IJ also determined that Mr. Ali’s
testimony “caused great question about his knowledge or participation at all in the LDP” due to
the factual inaccuracies about the party. Id. at 103.
3. Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals
Petitioners appealed the IJ’s denial of their application to the Board of Immigration
Appeals (“Board”) arguing that the IJ committed clear error by giving too much weight to the
inconsistencies in Mr. Ali’s testimony and ignoring other consistent and credible evidence. They
claimed that Mr. Ali’s forgetfulness was caused by sleep deprivation. Petitioners also argued that
the IJ should have “at a minimum” granted their request for CAT relief because an adverse
credibility finding on an asylum claim does not automatically compel a CAT denial. Id. at 25.
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They indicated that the country reports and scholarly articles they submitted were sufficient
grounds to grant CAT relief.
On September 6, 2024, the Board affirmed the IJ’s decision and issued a final order of
removal. The Board determined that Mr. Ali had not “persuasively explained or rebutted the
identified inconsistencies or issues relating to his demeanor” or “disputed the presence of the
identified inconsistencies” in his testimony. Id. at 4. Noting that the IJ’s adverse credibility
determination was based on “the totality of the circumstances,” the BIA found no “basis to set it
aside as clearly erroneous.” Id.
4. Petition to this Court
On October 7, 2024, Petitioners asked this Court to review the Board’s final order of
removal. They also concurrently filed a motion for stay of removal during the pendency of the
appeal. The government moved to dismiss the petition and motion for lack of jurisdiction, arguing
that they had been filed late. We denied the government’s motion, and the parties proceeded to
file their respective briefs on appeal.
II. DISCUSSION
On appeal, Petitioners ask us to review and reverse the Board’s rejection of Mr. Ali’s
asylum and CAT applications. They argue that the IJ erred in determining that Mr. Ali’s testimony
was not credible. Petitioners also contend that the IJ violated Mr. Ali’s due process rights at the
hearing.
A. Standard of Review
If the Board of Immigration Appeals issues its own decision—as it did in this case—we
review that decision as a final agency determination and review the IJ’s reasoning to the extent the
Board adopted it. Turcios-Flores v. Garland, 67 F.4th 347, 353 (6th Cir. 2023). We review the
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Board’s adverse credibility finding to determine if it is supported by substantial evidence.
Marouf v. Lynch, 811 F.3d 174, 180 (6th Cir. 2016). This is a highly deferential standard of review,
and we treat the credibility finding as “conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be
compelled to conclude to the contrary.” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B); Rubio-Mauricio v. Barr, 782 F.
App’x 444, 446–47 (6th Cir. 2019) (quotation omitted).
Mr. Ali bears the burden of proving that he is entitled to withholding of removal protection
under both his asylum and CAT applications. For asylum, “[t]he burden of proof is on the applicant
to establish that [he] is a refugee,” 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(i), which requires him to at least show
a “well-founded fear of persecution” in his home country, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). For CAT
relief, the applicant bears the yet more demanding burden of proving either that his “life or freedom
would be threatened in” his home country or that “it is more likely than not that he or she would
be tortured if removed to the proposed country of removal.” 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(b), (c)(2). The
applicant’s testimony alone may suffice to meet these burdens of proof—so long as the factfinder
finds it credible. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(ii); 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c)(2).
B. Analysis
1. The IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding
Petitioners argue that the Board improperly affirmed the IJ’s determination that Mr. Ali
lacked credibility and ask us to reverse that finding and grant his application for asylum,
withholding of removal, and CAT protection. Petitioners contend that the IJ’s determination
should be reversed because it “improperly relied on minor inconsistencies” and ignored other
consistent and corroborating evidence. Petitioners’ Br. at 5. However, “[a]n adverse credibility
finding is usually fatal,” and Mr. Ali’s case is no exception. Rubio-Mauricio, 782 F. App’x at 446.
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Because we agree that that the adverse credibility finding was reasonable, we deny the petition for
review.
To justify his adverse credibility finding, an IJ must articulate “specific reasons” that
explain why he distrusted petitioner’s version of events. Koulibaly v. Mukasey, 541 F.3d 613, 620
(6th Cir. 2008) (quotation omitted). The IJ in the instant case did just that. In his oral decision, he
enumerated multiple specific grounds for his adverse credibility determination, focusing in
particular on Mr. Ali’s inconsistent testimony regarding: (1) Hiron Mia’s presence during the
alleged December 2021 and February 2022 attacks; (2) whether a written Bengali personal
statement existed; (3) whether Awami League members attacked his father-in-law; and (4) the size
and political importance of the LDP. The IJ also found that Mr. Ali’s demeanor was not indicative
of credibility, noting that he “was repeatedly evasive” and “[r]epeatedly nonresponsive,” adding
that “his evasiveness seemed largely to revolve around any adverse questioning.” Admin. Rec.,
ECF No. 9-2, 102. These are reasonable grounds on which to base an adverse credibility
determination.
Petitioners claim that these inconsistencies are minor and do not bear on the fundamental
truth of their narrative, but this argument fails for two reasons. First, these inconsistencies do bear
powerfully on the asylum and CAT claims “because they concerned the very reason why [Mr. Ali]
feared persecution and fled.” See Bi Qing Zheng v. Lynch, 819 F.3d 287, 295 (6th Cir. 2016). For
instance, the inconsistencies in Mr. Ali’s testimony about Hiron Mia’s presence at his attacks cast
doubt on whether these attacks happened in the way he alleges—or at all. Similarly, Mr. Ali’s
testimony about reviewing a Bengali version of his personal statement that the IJ had reason to
believe did not exist imperils the fundamental trustworthiness of the entire personal statement and
the narrative contained within it.
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Second, evidentiary inconsistencies need not go to the heart of a petitioner's claim to justify
an adverse credibility finding. Id. at 295. And the cumulative effect of even minor inconsistencies
can support an adverse credibility finding. Berri v. Gonzales, 468 F.3d 390, 395 (6th Cir. 2006).
In this case, the IJ was clearly concerned about the persistent contradictions “[t]hroughout [Mr.
Ali’s] entire narrative of events.” Admin. Rec., ECF No. 9-2, 103. These systemic issues
supported the IJ’s determination that Mr. Ali’s overall demeanor and presentation was
“inconsistent, incoherent, and non-responsive.” Id. To the extent that the IJ’s adverse credibility
determination was based on his impression of Mr. Ali’s demeanor, we should be careful to defer
to the IJ. See Abdulahad v. Holder, 581 F.3d 290, 294–95 (6th Cir. 2009).
Mr. Ali also argues that the IJ ignored other evidence corroborating his version of events—
in particular, the newspaper article and medical records, which he claims relate to his February
2022 attack. This argument also fails. The IJ considered the article and determined that it actually
exacerbated the credibility problems because it stated that Hiron Mia was present at the February
attack, which “directly contradict[ed] [Mr. Ali’s] narrative of events.” Admin. Rec., ECF No. 9-2,
102; see also Mardusha v. Mukasev, 303 F. App'x 245, 246 n. l, 250 (6th Cir. 2008) (holding that
there was not sufficient evidence to reverse finding of adverse credibility where applicant
“submitted a newspaper article regarding her uncle's murder” that was inconsistent with her
testimony at asylum hearing and that inconsistency went “to the heart of” her application for
asylum). And, the fact that the IJ’s decision does not explicitly discuss the medical record is
immaterial—that note does not prove Mr. Ali’s story. The note indicates that he was hospitalized
from February 21, 2022 to February 23, 2022 and reports his symptoms, but states nothing about
the alleged attack. Accordingly, these documents do not impact our assessment of the adverse
credibility finding. See Luna-Romero v. Barr, 949 F.3d 292, 297 (6th Cir. 2020) (noting that the
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Board did not err in reaching an adverse credibility determination where supposedly corroborating
evidence did not “compel the conclusion that [the petitioner] was credible”).
Because the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was supported by significant inconsistencies in
Mr. Ali’s testimony and because Petitioners’ other evidence does not rehabilitate his testimony, we
hold that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was supported by substantial evidence and find no
reason to reverse the Board’s decision.
2. Denial of Petitioners’ CAT Claim
Petitioners next argue that the IJ erred by failing to consider their CAT claim independently
from the adverse credibility finding on their asylum claim. Petitioners are correct that, even where
the credibility of an applicant’s asylum claim is questioned, other reliable evidence may
nonetheless establish CAT eligibility. See, e.g., Mapouya v. Gonzales, 487 F.3d 396, 415 (6th Cir.
2007). But, if an applicant bases her CAT claim on the same non-credible grounds as her asylum
claim, it is appropriate for the IJ to find that the applicant’s CAT claim also fails for lack of
credibility. Bi Qing Zheng, 819 F.3d at 296. In this case, Petitioners based their CAT and asylum
claims on virtually the same grounds, meaning that the IJ’s adverse credibility determination
rightly applies to both.
The “independent,” credible evidence that Petitioners argue supports their CAT claim are
the country reports they submitted detailing the political conditions in Bangladesh. See Petitioners’
Br. at 15. But, these documents alone do not compel CAT relief. To prove entitlement to CAT
relief, an applicant must “demonstrate that she faces a particularized and likely threat of torture at
the hands of a public official, or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official.” Marqus
v. Barr, 968 F.3d 583, 587 (6th Cir. 2020) (emphasis added). The country reports do “not
demonstrate a threat of torture personal to” Petitioners—they merely discuss political oppression
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in Bangladesh generally. Id. at 590. Indeed, we have previously held that generalized country-
condition reports are insufficient to show that an applicant personally faces a particularized threat
of torture. See Bonilla-Cruz v. Bondi, 2025 WL 488765, at *3 (6th Cir. Feb. 13, 2025).
All additional evidence Mr. Ali submitted that was personal to him was appropriately
deemed not credible by the IJ. Accordingly, there was nothing left in the record that could have
proven Petitioners’ CAT eligibility. We thus hold that the Board did not err by denying Petitioners’
request for CAT relief on the same adverse credibility grounds as it did Petitioners’ asylum claim.
3. Petitioners’ Procedural Due Process Argument
Finally, Petitioners argue that the IJ violated their due process rights when it instructed Mr.
Ali to ask for clarification if he did not understand a question, but later faulted him for asking
clarifying questions. Petitioners appear to argue that the IJ deprived them of fair process by telling
Mr. Ali to ask clarifying questions, then factoring Mr. Ali’s requests for clarification into the
determination that he was being evasive. Although Petitioners do not say so in their brief, this is
a procedural due process argument. See EJS Props., LLC v. City of Toledo, 698 F.3d 845, 855 (6th
Cir. 2012) (“Procedural due process is…the requirement that the government provide a ‘fair
procedure’ when depriving someone of life, liberty, or property.”) (quoting Collins v. City of
Harker Heights, 503 U.S. 115, 125 (1992)).
We will not reach the merits of this argument. We have made clear that a “[noncitizen]
must raise correctable procedural errors to the BIA” for us to consider them on appeal. Sterkaj
v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 273, 279 (6th Cir. 2006). Petitioner did not raise this issue below. Because
the government properly raised Petitioners’ failure to exhaust this argument before the agency, see
Respondent’s Br. at 28 n.12, we find that Petitioners waived this procedural due process argument
and decline to consider it, see Mazariegos-Rodas v. Garland, 122 F.4th 655, 666 (6th Cir. 2024).
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III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, we DENY the petition for review.
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