Petitioner Victor Paul (hereinafter “petitioner” or “Paul”), a native and citizen of Pakistan, seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of his motion to reopen his case to consider changed conditions in his native country. The BIA declined to reopen asylum proceedings because evidence of intensifying persecution of Christians in Pakistan did not bear on the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) original adverse credibility decision, and it was on the basis of that credibility ruling that Paul was denied asylum and withholding of removal in the first place. But the adverse credibility determination in this case was not a typical one. The IJ only found petitioner’s stories of past persecution incredible, and, in contrast, explicitly credited petitioner’s testimony that he was a practicing Christian. Consequently, petitioner could, independently of his defeated assertions of past persecution, have successfully made out a claim of a likelihood of future persecution by proving that, as a Christian, he would face religious persecution if returned to Pakistan. Because a petition for asylum and withholding of removal on the basis of such a risk of future persecution was potentially meritorious, the BIA abused its discretion in failing even to consider evidence of deteriorating conditions for Christians in Pakistan. Accordingly, we grant Paul’s petition for review, and we vacate and remand the case to the BIA for reconsideration.
BACKGROUND
Born in Gujarat, Pakistan in June 1945, petitioner entered the United States in *151 September 1994, and in August 1995, filed an asylum application, claiming religious persecution. In his written application, petitioner stated that he had faced aggression, harassment, and discrimination as a practicing Christian in Pakistan. In addition to the routine and widespread abuses supposedly faced by Christians throughout Pakistan, petitioner also described several instances in which Paul and his family were specifically targeted. In particular, petitioner claimed that he had been thrown out of a restaurant on account of his religion, and that, on one occasion, as he and his family left church, “fundamentalist” Muslims had hurled stones at his family, injuring his daughter’s arm.
During a full hearing in April 1997, petitioner elaborated on the contentions he made in his written application. He testified that, shortly after he began working for the maintenance staff at the United States embassy in 1970, he was instructed to leave a restaurant because he was not Muslim. He also reiterated that, in May 1990, “fundamentalist” Muslims threw stones at him and his family as they exited their church, and that, as Paul’s family fled, his daughter was struck on the upper arm by one of the stones. Petitioner stated that he decided not to report the event to the police because local law enforcement routinely turned a blind eye to the filing of such complaints. Finally, petitioner testified that, in April 1994, as he left church, two individuals approached him and asked him who Christ was. When he replied, “Jesus Christ is the son of God,” the aggressors told Paul that he had insulted the Koran. They subsequently demanded that Paul come with them, and, when petitioner resisted, they dragged and beat him until a crowd (which was apparently oblivious to the underlying conflict) forced the assailants to disperse. Afterwards, petitioner went into hiding, and a few months later left Pakistan for the United States.
Significantly, during his asylum hearing, petitioner discussed his religious beliefs and practices at some length. He relayed that he was born and raised a Christian, that he brought up his four children in the Christian faith, and that he was a member of two churches in Pakistan — the Sialkot Diocese of the Church of Pakistan (in which he was a parishioner while he lived in Gujarat, Pakistan), and Christ Church, which he joined once he moved to Rawalpindi, Pakistan in 1970. In addition, Paul recounted that, as a child, he participated in a prayer group (called Dwaya), and that, as an adult, he attended multi-day religious conventions. He also chronicled political developments in Pakistan that allegedly exacerbated discrimination against Christians, i.e., the nationalization of colleges and hospitals, and the enactment of Sharia law in 1986. Moreover, in response to a series of questions from his lawyer and the IJ, petitioner gave fairly detailed descriptions of various Christian traditions and beliefs, e.g., baptism, the Last Supper, Holy Communion, etc. 1
On cross-examination, petitioner was confronted with an affidavit he had submitted to support his asylum petition. The statement was seemingly drafted by Alim Raza, who, according to the affidavit, was one of Paul’s best friends. Later, petitioner testified that Raza was actually his brother-in-law. The affidavit corroborated petitioner’s testimony that he had been thrown out of a restaurant because of his religion, and that his family had been pelted with stones as they left their church. The statement also indicated that Paul had *152 been charged with blasphemy in Pakistan. When questioned about the contents of the affidavit, however, petitioner flatly denied that he had ever been charged with blasphemy. Asked to reconcile this manifest discrepancy, petitioner explained that, after a paralegal working in his lawyer’s office had encouraged him to secure a statement corroborating his assertions, petitioner had asked his wife (who was still in Pakistan) to obtain an affidavit attesting to what he had endured. Paul also claimed that he was unaware of what the statement said since no one had translated the affidavit or reviewed its contents with him. Petitioner subsequently suggested that the aforementioned paralegal had prepared the affidavit himself.
Shortly thereafter, the hearing was adjourned. A month or so later, on May 19, 1997, the IJ issued his decision, denying petitioner’s claims on adverse credibility grounds.
The IJ expressed concern that Paul’s original application did not include dates either of Paul’s restaurant incident or of his family’s violent encounter as they left church. Those dates, the IJ observed, were supplied only during later testimony and in a subsequently-submitted affidavit. The IJ also stressed that “an exhibit which [petitioner] essentially admits ... was a falsified affidavit,” provided the sole corroboration for Paul’s claim. Unwilling both to accept those portions of the affidavit that supported Paul’s stories of past persecution, and at the same time to disregard the part that petitioner had disavowed, the IJ entered an adverse credibility finding against Paul. The IJ also stated, however, that he was “mindful of the fact that [petitioner had] provided detailed testimony as to his Christian affiliation and [had] provided letters, as well as sufficient detail to lead this Court to believe that [petitioner], at minimum, has some Christian affiliation.” On the basis of this mixed credibility ruling, the IJ ultimately denied asylum and withholding of removal, but granted the privilege of voluntary departure.
On May 8, 2002, the BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision for substantially the reasons given by the IJ. Petitioner did not appeal this decision. Instead, on July 17, 2002, petitioner filed a motion to reopen the proceedings based on updated country reports that purportedly detailed increasingly harsh conditions for Christians in Pakistan. 2 The BIA denied this motion on March 26, 2003, on the ground that the proffered evidence was not relevant to the IJ’s original adverse credibility determination against petitioner:
Our May 8, 2002 decision specifically affirmed the Immigration Judge’s determination that [petitioner] failed to present a credible asylum claim. However, [petitioner’s] motion to reopen does not address the Board’s decision regarding the credibility of his testimony. The [petitioner] only raises arguments regarding the increased level of violence directed toward Christians in Pakistan and suggests that mannerisms acquired by [petitioner] in this country will somehow make him a target of anti-American sentiment when he returns to Pakistan. In light of [petitioner’s] failure to present any new evidence relating specifically to the adverse credibility finding upon which the denial of his applications was based, the motion to reopen must be denied.
*153 Paul subsequently filed a timely petition for review, challenging the BIA’s denial of his motion to reopen his case. It is to the merits of this petition that we now turn.
DISCUSSION
We review the BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen for abuse of discretion.
See Kaur v. BIA
In the context of a motion to reopen, we are “precluded from passing on the merits of the underlying exclusion proceedings.”
Id.
at 90. Instead, we “confine our review to the denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen [the] proceedings.”
Kaur,
* * # * Hi ❖
In appealing the denial of his motion to reopen, petitioner primarily challenges the BIA’s refusal to consider evidence of changed conditions in Pakistan. 3 The BIA’s decision was seemingly premised on the view that, because the IJ’s original adverse credibility ruling was not appealed and therefore could not be disturbed — and because, even assuming arguendo that the credibility finding could be reviewed, the proffered evidence gave the BIA no reason to do so — Paul could no longer successfully petition for asylum or withholding of removal. As to claims for which proof of past persecution was essential, petitioner admits that the BIA’s position was correct given that the IJ explicitly rejected as not credible his narratives of past persecution. Petitioner contends, however, that, because the IJ expressly accepted that he was a practicing Christian, 4 he could, in his motion to reopen, validly raise claims based on his undisputed status as a Christian so long as these claims did not depend on evidence of past *154 persecution. In particular, Paul argues that he could have sought asylum and withholding of removal on the basis of a likelihood of future persecution, even though his claim of past persecution was previously rejected and, under the circumstances, cannot be revived.
For us to decide whether the BIA abused its discretion in completely ignoring potentially significant evidence, we therefore must consider whether an inviolate adverse credibility determination with respect to some of an alien’s claims, ie., Paul’s claims of past'persecution, necessarily infects related but essentially freestanding claims made by the same applicant in the course of the same petition, ie., Paul’s claims of a well-founded fear of future persecution. The prior holdings of our.circuit suggest, and we now expressly hold, that, with respect to petitions for both asylum and withholding of removal, an applicant may prevail on a theory of future persecution despite an IJ’s adverse credibility ruling as to past persecution, so long as the factual predicate of the applicant’s claim of future persecution is independent of the testimony that the IJ found not to be credible.
Asylum — For the purpose of deciding asylum petitions under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101 et seq., we have stated that:
An applicant may qualify for refugee status in two ways. First, he may demonstrate that he has suffered past persecution, in which case a presumption arises that he has a well-founded fear of future persecution. Second, the applicant may establish that he has a well-founded fear of future persecution, which requires that the alien present credible testimony that he subjectively fears persecution and establish that his fear is objectively reasonable.
Ramsameachire v. Ashcroft,
Withholding of Removal — Paul’s original application, which he sought to reopen, also contained a petition for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231. Since withholding of removal, unlike asylum, may only be requested on the basis of a probability of future persecution, determining whether a withholding claim remained viable despite the IJ’s credibility ruling requires a somewhat different analysis from the one just made.
It is well-settled that the burden of proof for a withholding of removal claim is higher than the burden of proof for an asylum claim.
See Abankwah v. INS,
But, in
Ramsameachire
itself, with respect to claims under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“CAT”), Dec. 10, 1984, S. Treaty Doc. No. 100-20, 1465 U.N.T.S. 85 — which are also subject to a higher standard of proof than asylum claims,
ie.,
that the “alien is more likely than not to be tortured in the country of removal,” 8 C.F.R. §
208.16(c)(4)
— we firmly held that an IJ may not deny a CAT claim solely on the basis of an adverse credibility finding.
See Ramsameachire,
Withholding claims, like CAT claims, lack a subjective component and are con
*156
cerned only with objective evidence of future persecution. The INA’s withholding provision, 8 U.S.C § 1231(b)(3)(A), states that “the Attorney General may not remove an alien to a country if the Attorney General decides that the alien’s life or freedom would be threatened in that country because of the alien’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” In
INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca,,
Because withholding claims, just like petitions for CAT relief, depend on objective evidence of future persecution, the rationale we enunciated in Ramsameachire in holding that adverse credibility rulings as to asylum do not necessarily bar relief under the CAT must similarly apply in the withholding context. Accordingly, we now conclude that a withholding of removal claim under 8 U.S.C. § 1231, premised exclusively on objective evidence of future persecution, may, in appropriate instances, be sustained even though an IJ, in the context of an asylum claim, has found not credible the applicant’s testimony alleging past persecution.
This does not mean, of course, that where a withholding claim is based on the very fact, or set of facts, that the IJ found not to be credible, that an adverse credibility ruling will not preclude the withholding claim. Indeed, in such circumstances, we have routinely decided in any number of cases before and after
Ramsameachire
that a withholding of removal claim was meritless since the alien’s asylum claim had failed on adverse credibility grounds.
See e.g., Majidi v. Gonzales,
In all these cases, the factual predicate of the alien’s withholding claim was based on the same assertions that the IJ had found incredible in denying the applicant’s asylum claim. For example, in
Wu Biao Chen
(which was decided before
Ramsameachire
), the only evidence of a future threat to life or freedom was petitioner’s contention, which the IJ found not to be believable, that he had held certain political views and had participated in. political activities in his native country.
See Wu Biao Chen,
And, in
Zhou Yi Ni
(which was decided after Ramsameachire), the only basis for the applicant’s asylum and withholding claims was a sterilization that government officials had allegedly forced the applicant’s wife to undergo. Because the IJ found the applicant’s testimony incredible as to the sterilization,
see Zhou Yi Ni,
Similarly, in the analogous context of CAT claims, we have held that a petition for CAT relief may fail because of an adverse credibility ruling rendered in the asylum context where the factual basis for the alien’s CAT claim was the same as that rejected in his asylum petition. For instance, in
Xue Hong Yang v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice,
Unlike all those
decisions
— i.e., the pre- and
postRamsameachire
withholding cases and the more recent CAT claim case,
Xue Hong Yang
— the withholding claim that petitioner seeks to reopen in this case does not rest on, or in any way require, the validity of his defeated allegations of past persecution. For Paul’s petition for withholding of removal to succeed, he needs (1) to establish that he possessed the relevant characteristic,
i.e.,
that he was, in fact, a practicing Christian, and (2) to present sufficient objective evidence that, if returned to Pakistan, he would likely be persecuted on the basis of his religious beliefs. The government has conceded that Paul was found to have credibly testified that he was a practicing Christian. In order to prevail, he therefore only needs to demonstrate, through the proffer of enough valid evidence, that he would likely be persecuted because of his religion. Proof that persecution of Christians in Pakistan has become more common, intense, or
far-reaching
— ie., the very proof that petitioner purports to have presented in filing his motion to reopen — would clearly bear on this objective inquiry. Under the circumstances, the BIA’s refusal even to consider such evidence constitutes an abuse of discretion.
See
8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c)(3)(h);
see also Poradisova v. Gonzales,
For the foregoing reasons, we grant Paul’s petition for review, we Vacate the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen, and we Remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Notes
.
Cf. Rizal
v.
Gonzales,
. Petitioner's motion to reopen did not, everyone agrees, present any evidence that would have been relevant to the IJ's finding that Paul had submitted a seemingly falsified affidavit in support of his petition for asylum.
. Some parts of petitioner's brief to us call into question the validity of the IJ’s credibility ruling. To the extent that petitioner’s arguments on appeal seek to challenge the original adverse credibility finding, we conclude — for the reasons stated earlier — that those contentions, whatever their merit, are not properly before us.
. In his brief and at oral argument, petitioner rightly observed that the IJ made a "bifurcated finding” as to petitioner's credibility. The respondent's lawyer, in the course of ably and responsibly advocating the government’s position, did not dispute petitioner's view. Thus, the government acknowledged, as it must, that the record before us clearly indicates that, while the IJ rejected Paul's allegations of past persecution, he accepted Paul’s testimony that he was a practicing Christian.
. Although the IJ's bifurcated credibility ruling does not foreclose a claim of future persecution, it does affect how Paul may go about proving the subjective and objective validity of his fear. For instance, petitioner cannot assert that he subjectively fears persecution on the basis of what his family purportedly endured in the past. But, Paul can still validly claim that he subjectively fears persecution because he is a Christian. For that aspect of petitioner's testimony was expressly found believable by the IJ, and the BIA's decision did nothing to alter that conclusion. As to the objective reasonableness of Paul’s fear, due to the IJ’s credibility ruling, Paul's claim of future persecution does not benefit from the presumption in his favor that would have been established had past persecution been proven. But, proof of worsening country conditions in Pakistan can still furnish evidence that Paul's fear of future persecution is objectively reasonable.
. The asylum seeker in
Ramsameaehire
did not challenge the BIA’s rejection of his withholding claim.
See Ramsameachire,
. This holding was limited to those situations in which the adverse credibility finding did not negate all of the factual bases of the applicant’s claim of a likelihood of future persecution. See infra.