Hu v. Holder Jr., No. 09-70240 (9th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, a native and citizen of China, petitioned for review of a final order of removal by the BIA where the BIA denied petitioner's applications for asylum and withholding of removal because it concluded that he had failed to establish that his past mistreatment was on account of a protected ground and where the BIA also denied petitioner's application for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court found that the BIA ignored the anti-government political opinions Chinese officals imputed to petitioner as a motivating factor for their abuse, and erroneously concluded that his pro-labor activities did not constitute an expression of a political opinion. Further, the IJ's conclusion that the Chinese officials mistreated petitioner because of legitimate prosecution was not supported by substantial evidence. Therefore, the court granted the petition for review and reversed the BIA's finding that petitioner had not established a nexus to a protected ground where any reasonable fact-finder would be compelled to conclude that the past mistreatment petitioner suffered was on account of a protected ground. The court remanded to the BIA to determine whether petitioner had established past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution, with instructions to provide a more reasoned explanation of its decision on his CAT claim.
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