Fourth Circuit Decision on Evidence, IJ failure

Tassi v. Holder: "In sum, the IJ committed multiple legal and factual errors. In the first category, the IJ erroneously (1) applied the rules of evidence; (2) suggested that corroborative evidence requires further corroboration; and (3) discredited documents as unauthenticated under the immigration regulations without providing Tassi an opportunity to authenticate them by other means and without otherwise providing sound, cogent reasons for rejecting them. Of course, an IJ's errors of law necessarily constitute an abuse of discretion. See Menghesha v. Gonzales, 450 F.3d 142, 147 (4th Cir. 2006). In the second category, several of the IJ's factual findings were not supported by substantial evidence, but by inaccurate perceptions of the record or by speculation and assumption. See Jian Tao Lin, 611 F.3d at 237. The IJ's legal and factual errors, in turn, thwarted the necessary weighing of Tassi's corroborative evidence against the adverse credibility findings. See id. at 236. For its part, the BIA erred in failing to recognize the IJ's multiple errors concerning important aspects of Tassi's claims, rendering the BIA Order manifestly contrary to law and an abuse of discretion."

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com