Ninth Circuit Credibility Decision

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed an adverse credibility finding by the immigration judge in an asylum case:   “The IJ articulated six reasons for finding Chawla not credible, and the BIA independently articulated a seventh reason. None of the reasons articulated by the IJ or BIA, considered either separately or in combination, provide a legitimate basis to question Chawla’s credibility. Therefore, we hold that the adverse credibility finding is not supported by substantial evidence.”  While some might not find this surprising — it is the Ninth Circuit, I was surprised that the opinion was written by Judge Stephen Trott, not known to frequently reverse decisions of the immigration agencies, and joined by Judges Diarmuid O’Scannlain and Paez.

KJ