Singla v. Garland

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: December 8, 2023
• Docket: 23-383
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS DEC 8 2023 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

AMIT SINGLA, No. 23-383 Agency No. Petitioner, A216-265-782 v. MEMORANDUM* MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General,

Respondent.

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

Submitted December 6, 2023** San Francisco, California

Before: S.R. THOMAS, BRESS, and JOHNSTONE, Circuit Judges.

Amit Singla, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of a Board of

Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal of an Immigration Judge

(“IJ”) (collectively, “the Agency”) order finding him not credible and denying his

* 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). applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention

Against Torture (“CAT”).

We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. Where, as here, the BIA cites

Matter of Burbano, 20 I. & N. Dec. 872, 874 (B.I.A. 1994), and also provides its

own review of the evidence and the law, we review both the IJ and the BIA’s

decisions. See Ruiz-Colmenares v. Garland, 25 F.4th 742, 748 (9th Cir. 2022). We

review legal conclusions de novo and factual findings for substantial evidence. Id.

We deny the petition.

1. Substantial evidence supports the Agency’s adverse credibility

determination. Considered together, Singla’s inconsistent statements about the

number of individuals who threatened him, his travel and employment history, and

his lack of familiarity with details about the Indian National Congress Party

(“Congress Party”), as well as his exaggerated statements and voluntary return to

India before entering the United States, form an adequate basis for the Agency’s

adverse credibility determination under the totality of circumstances. See 8 U.S.C.

§§ 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii) (asylum), 1231(b)(3)(C) (withholding of removal),

1229a(c)(4)(C) (all other relief). In each instance, the Agency referred to “specific

instances in the record” to support its determination, Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d

1034, 1044 (9th Cir. 2010), afforded Singla opportunities to explain the

inconsistencies in the record, and provided “specific and cogent reason[s] for

2 23-383 rejecting” those explanations. Barseghyan v. Garland, 39 F.4th 1138, 1143 (9th

Cir. 2022) (quoting Rizk v. Holder, 629 F.3d 1083, 1088 (9th Cir. 2011), overruled

in part on other grounds by Alam v. Garland, 11 F.4th 1133 (9th Cir. 2021)).

2. Substantial evidence also supports the Agency’s finding that Singla failed

to rehabilitate his testimony with sufficient corroborating evidence. Mukulumbutu

v. Barr, 977 F.3d 924, 927 (9th Cir. 2020). The Agency reasonably discounted the

value of the evidence Singla submitted to show past harm or membership in the

Congress Party because the documents were either unreliable or of limited

probative value. See Lin v. Gonzales, 434 F.3d 1158, 1162 (9th Cir. 2006) (stating

the record must include evidence of a “legitimate basis to distrust the documents”);

Mukulumbutu, 977 F.3d at 927 (affording affidavit “limited weight” because

declarant was an interested party and unavailable for cross-examination). Because

the Agency found Singla not credible, and substantial evidence supports that

conclusion, it also did not need to provide Singla with notice or an opportunity to

supplement the record. Yali Wang v. Sessions, 861 F.3d 1003, 1009 (9th Cir.

2017).

3. Absent credible testimony or sufficient corroborating evidence,

substantial evidence supports the Agency’s denial of asylum and withholding of

removal because Singla failed to establish past or feared future persecution on

account of his political opinion. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(b)(1)(B)(i) (asylum),

3 23-383 1231(b)(3)(A) (withholding of removal).

4. Finally, substantial evidence supports the Agency’s denial of CAT

protection because Singla failed to establish that it is more likely than not he will

be tortured by or with the acquiescence of the Indian government. See 8 C.F.R.

§§ 1208.16(c)(2), 1208.18(a)(1). Although the submitted country conditions

reports and news articles show potential political violence in India, they do not

establish that Singla faces a particularized risk of torture in the country. See

Lalayan v. Garland, 4 F.4th 822, 840 (9th Cir. 2021).

PETITION DENIED.

4 23-383