Opinions of the United
2006 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
2-28-2006
Enohonsi v. Atty Gen USA
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 05-1764
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 05-1764
ITA B. ENOHONSI,
Petitioner
v.
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES;
DONALD MONICA, U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF HOMELAND SECURITY,
Respondents
Petition for Review of an Order
of the Board of Immigration Appeals
(A16-091-421)
Immigration Judge: Grace A. Sease
Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
February 28, 2006
Before: SLOVITER, FUENTES, Circuit Judges, and BRODY,* District Judge
(Filed February 28, 2006)
OPINION
*
Hon. Anita B. Brody, United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.
SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.
Ita B. Enohonsi has filed a petition to review the denial of his application for
asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention
Against Torture (“CAT”). The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) found that Enohonsi was not a
credible witness and further concluded that “even if we were to credit [Enohonsi’s]
testimony that he is a member of the Itsekiri tribe and that he is a Christian,” App. at 19,
he had failed to prove that he had a well-founded fear of persecution. The Board of
Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed. We have jurisdiction to review the BIA’s decision
pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1). See Abdille v. Ashcroft, 242 F.3d 477, 482 (3d Cir.
2001). Where, as here, the Board issues a single-member decision pursuant to 8 C.F.R.
§ 1003.1(e)(5) that “merely supplements the [IJ’s] opinion,” the court reviews the
decision of the IJ as well as that of the BIA. Niam v. Ashcroft, 354 F.3d 652, 655-56 (7th
Cir. 2004).
I.
Background
Enohonsi is a native and citizen of Nigeria. He is a member of the Itsekiri tribe
and is a Christian. He spent the early years of his life in Orum.1 Enohonsi testified that
there was violence between Muslims and Christians in Carduna, where one of his brothers
1
We note that the record is inconsistent as to the correct
spellings of “Itsekiri” and “Orum,” which are sometimes spelled
“Itsekuri” and “Orom,” respectively.
2
lived. In January of 2001, Enohonsi’s mother went to Carduna to visit Enohonsi’s brother
and she found that he had been murdered and his house had been burned down.
Enohonsi’s father began building a compound in Orum in 1985. It had over
twenty rooms, which his father would rent exclusively to members of the Itsekiri tribe.
Enohonsi worked at the compound. He testified that the Ijaw and Ibo people would often
attack the Itsekiris. His parents were killed in December of 2001, allegedly after a group
of Ibos and Ijaws set fire to the compound.
After the compound was destroyed, Enohonsi went to Lagos to live with his
brother. He and his brother were attacked by a group of six people. Enohonsi ran away,
but his brother was badly beaten and died as a result. Enohonsi does not know who
attacked him and his brother or why.
After the death of his brother, Enohonsi left Nigeria because the deaths of his
parents and brothers made him fear that his life was in danger. He moved to Benin, and
then to Cote d’Ivoire. He never obtained permission to live permanently in Cote d’Ivoire.
Fearing the increased violence in the Cote d’Ivoire, Enohonsi stowed away on a
ship in November of 2003. He did not know where the ship was going. The ship docked
in Philadelphia on December 13, 2002 and he was taken to a hospital. On December 19,
2003, he was taken to the airport and questioned.
II.
Legal Standards
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In its order affirming the IJ's decision, the BIA found it “unnecessary to address
credibility as, even if credible, the respondent failed to sustain the burden of proof
applicable to asylum and the more stringent burden applicable to withholding of
removal.” Rec. at 2. Therefore, for purposes of this appeal, we accept Enohonsi’s
testimony as true. See Kayembe v. Ashcroft, 334 F.3d 231, 234-35 (3d Cir. 2005).
To qualify as a “refugee” who may receive asylum, an alien must establish that he
or she is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality “because of
persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502
U.S. 478, 481 (1992) (quotation marks and citations omitted). The persecution alleged
must be at the hands of the government or individuals the government is either unable or
unwilling to control. Gao v. Ashcroft, 299 F.3d 266, 272 (3d Cir. 2002).
To establish a well-founded fear of persecution, an asylum applicant must show
“that [he or] she has a genuine fear, and that a reasonable person in [his or] her
circumstances would fear persecution if returned to [his or] her native country.” Gao, 299
F.3d at 272. The BIA and this court have defined persecution to include acts or
conditions “so severe that they constitute a threat to life or freedom.” Fatin v. INS, 12
F.3d 1233, 1240 (3d Cir. 1993). Thus, “persecution does not encompass all treatment that
our society regards as unfair, unjust, or even unlawful or unconstitutional.” Id.
The threshold for establishing eligibility for withholding of removal is higher than
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that for establishing entitlement to asylum and requires the petitioner to demonstrate a
“clear probability” that, upon deportation to the country of origin, “his or her life or
freedom would be threatened on account of one of the statutorily enumerated factors.”
Senathirajah v. INS, 157 F.3d 210, 215 (3d Cir. 1998) (citation omitted). An applicant
who does not qualify for asylum necessarily does not qualify for withholding of removal.
Guo v. Ashcroft, 386 F.3d 556, 561 n.4 (3d Cir. 2004).
To qualify for relief under the CAT, an applicant for relief bears the burden of
proving through objective evidence that it is “more likely than not” that he or she would
be “tortured” in the country to which the applicant would be removed. Wang v. Ashcroft,
368 F.3d 347, 349 (3d Cir. 2004) (quoting 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16(c)(2)).
Whether an applicant has demonstrated “persecution or a well-founded fear of
persecution” on account of a statutorily enumerated factor is a factual determination,
which this court reviews under the substantial evidence standard. Shardar v. Ashcroft,
382 F.3d 318, 323 (3d Cir. 2004). Under this standard, the IJ's finding must be upheld
unless “the evidence not only supports” a contrary conclusion, “but compels it.” Elias-
Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 481 n.1.
III.
Discussion
The IJ found that Enohonsi had failed to meet his burden of establishing eligibility
for the relief he sought because he offered “weak, general, or meager testimony.” App. at
5
20 (citation omitted). Enohonsi offers no evidence that would compel a contrary
conclusion. He provided no corroboration for his belief that his family members were
killed on the basis of their religious or tribal identities.
This court has stated that “the absence of corroboration or explanation in cases
where it is reasonable to expect one or the other can lead to a finding that the applicant
has failed to meet his burden of proof.” Abdulai v. Ashcroft, 239 F.3d 542, 546 -47 (3d
Cir. 2001) (quotation marks and citations omitted). The only corroboration of his
testimony that Enohonsi offers are country reports. These reports, while noting the
existence of religious or tribal conflict in particular parts of Nigeria, fail to support
Enohonsi’s specific allegations of violence against his family for being Christians or
members of the Itsekiri tribe, because they do not reference the times and places of the
events he alleges. Therefore, the IJ’s conclusion that Enohonsi had failed to meet his
burden of proof is supported by substantial evidence.
Even if the IJ’s finding that Enohonsi did not establish a well-founded fear of
persecution was erroneous, the IJ also found that Enohonsi was ineligible for asylum
because he could safely relocate within Nigeria. See 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b)(2)(ii) (“An
applicant does not have a well-founded fear of persecution if the applicant could avoid
persecution by relocating to another part of the applicant’s country of nationality . . . if
under all the circumstances it would be reasonable to expect the applicant to do so.”).
The country reports that Enohonsi offered fail to establish a pattern or practice of
6
violence against Christians or members of the Itsekiri tribe throughout Nigeria. Thus,
Enohonsi presented no evidence or convincing arguments to contradict the IJ's finding
that he could safely relocate.
Because Enohonsi has failed show a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis
of any protected ground, he is not eligible for asylum or for withholding of removal. In
addition, he has failed to show that it is more likely than not that he will be tortured and is
therefore ineligible for relief under the CAT. We will therefore deny the Petition for
Review.
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