Halo v. Gonzales

LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

Altin Halo and Esmeralda Hysenaj are Albanian nationals whose applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) were denied by the Immigration Judge (IJ). That denial was affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The two decisionmakers rested their conclusions on different grounds. The IJ denied asylum on the basis that Halo, the lead applicant, was not credible.

The BIA noted the IJ’s lack-of-eredibility finding; however, it did not purport to adopt it. Rather, the BIA found that

even assuming the credibility…