Opinions of the United
2005 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
12-16-2005
Tanudjaja v. Atty Gen USA
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 04-4737
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"Tanudjaja v. Atty Gen USA" (2005). 2005 Decisions. Paper 99.
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT
OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
NO. 04-4737
WIDYA DHARMI TANUDJAJA,
Petitioner
v.
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals
No. A95-150-164
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
December 13, 2005
BEFORE: SLOVITER, SMITH and STAPLETON,
Circuit Judges
(Opinion Filed December 16, 2005)
OPINION OF THE COURT
STAPLETON, Circuit Judge:
Petitioner Widya Dharmi Tanudjaja is a citizen of Indonesia, and her ethnicity is
Chinese. She is a life-long Buddhist. She petitions for review of a BIA decision denying
her asylum and withholding of removal.
The BIA adopted and affirmed the decision of the Immigration Judge (“IJ”). We
review a BIA’s factual finding that a petitioner has failed to carry the burden of proof to
qualify for asylum under the substantial evidence test. Under the substantial evidence
standard, we may reverse only if we conclude that no reasonable person could fail to find
that the petitioner had sustained her burden of proof.
Tanudjaja insists that she has been persecuted in Indonesia in the past because of
her religion and her ethnicity and that she will similarly be persecuted if she returns there.
With respect to religion, the IJ pointed out that the record provided no evidence that the
government of Indonesia persecutes people because of their Buddhist faith or that there
has been a pattern involving Islamic extremists targeting Buddhists for persecution.
While the IJ acknowledged that ethnic Chinese have experienced discrimination in
Indonesia in the past, she noted that, more recently, there had been significant steps taken
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by the government to protect ethnic Chinese. The IJ concluded with record support that
while “there are still people who will discriminate against the Chinese, these actions are
not condoned by the government.” App. at 31.
With respect to the only portion of Tanudjaja’s testimony that arguably might
support a finding of persecution on ethnicity grounds, her experiences during the riots in
May of 1998, the IJ fully credited Tanudjaja’s testimony. The IJ pointed out, however,
that no government can protect its citizens during civil strife and that the incidents which
did occur involving aggression against Chinese during the riots were “certainly not
condoned or carried out by the government of Indonesia.” App. at 32. The IJ then added
that Tanudjaja acknowledged in her testimony that her brother and two sisters who had
remained in Indonesia had not experienced any significant problems since the 1998 riots.
The IJ ultimately concluded that, based on Tanudjaja’s own testimony, she had
failed “to demonstrate that she suffered past persecution in Indonesia on account of her
ethnicity or religion or that she would suffer future persecution in Indonesia on account of
her ethnicity or religion.” App. at 32. The record does not require a contrary conclusion.
The petition for review will be denied.
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