United States Second Circuit

Denial of application for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture is vacated where the IJ erred in a number of respects, including failing to take account of testimony showing that the harm petitioner suffered was on account of political opinion; misapplying BIA and Second Circuit precedent regarding the meaning of the statutory term "persecution"; requiring physical evidence of the abuse petitioner claimed to have suffered without explaining why he believed such evidence was reasonably available; and discounting portions of petitioner's testimony because of his use of false identification documents without explaining what weight he assigned to this factor and without distinguishing between the use of false documents to flee persecution and to attempt to enter the United States illegally.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/19/2006
• Published 09/19/2006

Judges

• SOTOMAYOR, Circuit Judge:, Before: STRAUB, SOTOMAYOR, and HALL, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Mark T. Kenmore, Buffalo, NY, for Petitioner.


• For Appellees:
  
• Gregory R. Miller, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida;  E. Bryan Wilson, Assistant United States Attorney, Tallahassee, FL, for Respondent.