Singh v. Bondi

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS APR 7 2025 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

GURPREET SINGH, No. 23-2309 Agency No. Petitioner, A209-387-465 v. MEMORANDUM* PAMELA BONDI, Attorney General,

Respondent.

On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals

Submitted March 5, 2025** San Francisco, California

Before: WARDLAW, BEA, and LEE, Circuit Judges.

Gurpreet Singh, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of a

decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing an appeal from

an order of an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denying his applications for asylum,

withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”).

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, and we grant the petition.

1. The BIA erred when it determined that Singh waived review of the

IJ’s decision. The IJ found that Singh was not credible and that the evidence he

submitted was insufficient independently to establish eligibility for asylum,

withholding of removal, and protection under CAT. The BIA asserted that Singh

did not “meaningfully challenge” the IJ’s findings or decision and deemed the

issues waived on appeal. The BIA declined to address Singh’s remaining

arguments.

In his opening brief to the BIA, Singh “apprise[d] the BIA of the particular

basis” for Singh’s “claim that the IJ erred.” Rizo v. Lynch, 810 F.3d 688, 692 (9th

Cir. 2016). Specifically, Singh argued that the IJ’s credibility determination was

not supported by substantial evidence because the IJ (1) ignored that one of his

omissions was a typographical error; (2) improperly required Singh to provide all

of the details of his beatings in his declaration; (3) relied on speculation and

conjecture; and (4) ignored evidence that substantiated Singh’s descriptions of his

beatings. These arguments were more than “sufficient to put the BIA on notice”

that Singh was challenging the IJ’s adverse credibility determination. Bare v.

Barr, 975 F.3d 952, 960 (9th Cir. 2020). The BIA failed to address Singh’s

argument that the IJ’s credibility determination was not supported by substantial

evidence. Because the BIA’s waiver conclusion was erroneous and because “[o]ur

2 23-2309 review is limited to those grounds explicitly relied upon by the [BIA],” see Diaz-

Reynoso v. Barr, 968 F.3d 1070, 1075 (9th Cir. 2020), we grant the petition for

review.

2. Additionally, the BIA failed to state with sufficient particularity and

clarity its reasons for affirming the IJ. “[I]n order for [us] to conduct a proper

substantial evidence review of the BIA’s decision, the Board’s opinion must state

with sufficient particularity and clarity the reasons for denial. . ..” Castillo v. INS,

951 F.2d 1117, 1121 (9th Cir. 1991). Here, the BIA’s decision fails to “evidence

an individualized review of the petitioner’s contentions.” Id. The decision is

devoid of analysis. The BIA did not state which part, if any, of the IJ’s reasoning

it adopted, offer its own reasoning for requiring corroborating evidence, or discuss

credibility, which was central to the IJ’s decision and Singh’s appeal of the IJ’s

decision. “We are not permitted to credit such an inaccurate, conclusory, and

boilerplate decision.” Hartooni v. INS, 21 F.3d 336, 343 (9th Cir. 1994). “Board

opinions that lack an adequate statement of the BIA’s reasons for denying the

petitioner relief must be remanded to the Board for clarification of the bases for its

opinion.” Castillo, 951 F.2d at 1121.

PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED AND REMANDED.

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