United States Seventh Circuit

A Chinese citizen's petition for review of a BIA's affirmance of an IJ's denial of an application for asylum and withholding of removal based on his wife's alleged abortion, is denied where: 1) even if the abortion and sterilization certificates should have been given more weight, they contain nothing to suggest that these procedures were forced upon petitioner's wife; 2) petitioner has given no reason to disturb the IJ's adverse credibility finding as, petitioner failed to meet his burden of explaining to the IJ's satisfaction the inconsistencies in his testimony and documents; 3) petitioner was afforded an opportunity for a full and fair hearing; 4) although the petitioner failed to exhaust his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, this claim is without merit; and 5) the failure to exhaust aside, petitioner's claim that the IJ should have determined whether he was competent to testify is rejected as, when an alien raises the issue of his competency with the IJ, the IJ generally is not expected to sua sponte initiate a competency evaluation.

Appellate Information

• Argued 09/28/2010
• Decided 12/23/2010
• Published 12/23/2010

Judges

• TINDER

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel