Talukder v. Lynch, 662 F. App'x 23

Md Shopon Talukder, a Bangladeshi national, applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief based on membership in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and past harm.
An Immigration Judge (IJ) denied relief after finding Talukder not credible; the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed on June 24, 2014.
Key facts relied on by the agency: Talukder’s inconsistent statements about when he joined the BNP, differences between his testimony and supporting documents about a November 2009 stabbing/abduction, and his hesitant/unresponsive demeanor at hearing.
Talukder submitted corroborating materials (wife’s affidavit, medical report) that contained inconsistencies with his application and testimony; he provided no documentation showing continued BNP activity in the U.S.
Talukder also requested a continuance six days before the hearing to gather evidence and later alleged the IJ was hostile; the IJ denied the continuance and the court found no bias warranting remand.
The Second Circuit reviewed both IJ and BIA decisions and denied the petition for review, upholding the adverse credibility finding and related denials of relief.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Adverse credibility determination	Talukder argued his testimony and evidence were credible and inconsistencies were excusable or minor	Agency argued demeanor, inconsistencies between application/testimony/corroboration, and lack of corroboration warranted disbelief	Court upheld adverse credibility finding as reasonable under totality of circumstances
Failure to corroborate	Talukder argued submitted affidavit and medical report supported his claims	Government argued those documents were inconsistent and he produced no corroboration of ongoing BNP activity in U.S.	Court found agency reasonably relied on lack and inconsistency of corroboration to discredit him
Denial of continuance	Talukder argued he needed more time to obtain evidence and move was timely	Government argued Talukder had 20 months to submit evidence and waited until six days before hearing	Court held IJ did not abuse discretion in denying continuance for lack of good cause
Alleged IJ hostility / unfair hearing	Talukder claimed IJ’s demeanor was hostile and denied a fair hearing	Government maintained record did not show bias sufficient to require remand	Court found no evidence of bias or hostility requiring remand and denied the claim

Xiu Xia Lin v. Mukasey, 534 F.3d 162 (2d Cir. 2008) (standard for reviewing credibility findings under totality of circumstances)
Li Hua Lin v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 453 F.3d 99 (2d Cir. 2006) (deference to IJ demeanor findings)
Biao Yang v. Gonzales, 496 F.3d 268 (2d Cir. 2007) (role of corroboration when credibility questioned)
Majidi v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 77 (2d Cir. 2005) (applicant must offer compelling explanations for inconsistencies)
Paul v. Gonzales, 444 F.3d 148 (2d Cir. 2006) (adverse credibility dispositive of asylum, withholding, CAT claims)
Morgan v. Gonzales, 445 F.3d 549 (2d Cir. 2006) (abuse-of-discretion review for continuance denials)
Guo-Le Huang v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 142 (2d Cir. 2006) (remand may be required where IJ demonstrates bias)
Wangchuck v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 448 F.3d 524 (2d Cir. 2006) (reviewing both IJ and BIA decisions)