Yan Zhang v. Jefferson B. Sessions, III
681 F. App'x 554
8th Cir.2017Background
- Yan Zhang, a Chinese national, attended informal "family-church" Christian meetings beginning in 2008; on Aug. 5, 2009 police raided a meeting, detained and beat him, confiscated Bibles, and fined him 5,000 RMB. He was released after three days and required to report weekly to police and sign a promise not to attend the meetings.
- Zhang arrived in the U.S. Dec. 26, 2009, overstayed his visitor status, was baptized in the U.S., and filed for asylum, withholding, and CAT protection on June 4, 2010, asserting religious persecution (also listed political opinion but focused on religion).
- At removal proceedings Zhang admitted removability; the IJ found multiple inconsistencies between his written asylum applications and oral testimony (assault details and date/reasons for job termination) and found him not credible.
- The IJ alternatively held that Zhang’s three-day detention and beatings did not rise to past persecution and that his fear of future persecution was not objectively reasonable because he could attend registered churches or relocate within China; withholding and CAT relief were denied.
- The BIA affirmed the IJ’s adverse credibility finding and alternative holdings; Zhang petitioned this court for review, challenging credibility, past persecution, well-founded fear, withholding, and CAT relief. The court denied the petition.
Issues
| Issue | Zhang's Argument | Government's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adverse credibility finding | Discrepancies were minor; testimony overall credible | Written/oral inconsistencies (assault timing; job termination date/reasons) justified adverse credibility | BIA/IJ credibility determination upheld; substantial evidence supports it |
| Past persecution | Detention, repeated beatings, and threats amounted to persecution on account of religion | Detention/beatings were brief/minor and not part of ongoing persecution | Not persecution; isolated short detention and minor beatings do not meet standard |
| Well-founded fear of future persecution | Ongoing police monitoring and threats from police made fear reasonable | Zhang could attend registered churches or relocate within China; objective fear lacking | Objective component not met; no reasonable possibility of future persecution shown |
| Withholding of removal and CAT relief | Alternate relief warranted because of likelihood of future persecution/torture | Higher standards apply; Zhang failed to meet asylum burden and offered no independent CAT evidence | Denied: withholding fails (higher standard); CAT relief fails (no showing more likely than not torture) |
Key Cases Cited
- Ali v. Holder, 776 F.3d 522 (8th Cir. 2015) (credibility may be based on consistency between written and oral statements)
- Cubillos v. Holder, 565 F.3d 1054 (8th Cir. 2009) (standard for overturning BIA on fear of persecution)
- Malonga v. Holder, 621 F.3d 757 (8th Cir. 2010) (short detentions and minor beatings not persecution)
- Alyas v. Gonzales, 419 F.3d 756 (8th Cir. 2005) (detention and beatings on multiple occasions still may fall short of persecution)
- Makatengkeng v. Gonzales, 495 F.3d 876 (8th Cir. 2007) (definition of persecution as extreme harm)
- Singh v. Gonzales, 495 F.3d 553 (8th Cir. 2007) (objective and subjective components of well-founded fear)
- Guled v. Mukasey, 515 F.3d 872 (8th Cir. 2008) (CAT requires separate showing when reasons differ from asylum claims)