Hussain v. Rosen, No. 18-70780 (9th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this Case
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's determination that petitioner failed to meet his burden of proof for asylum, withholding of removal, or relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The BIA noted that petitioner never testified or submitted evidence claiming any actual injury caused by the Taliban, or that the Taliban individually targeted or attacked him for any reason. The BIA also concluded that the IJ provided petitioner due process where there was no indication in the transcript or the appeal that he did not understand the proceedings or that there were facts he was "unable to present."
The panel held that the IJ provided petitioner due process by providing details about the structure of the hearing, the availability of counsel, and asking numerous questions through which petitioner had ample opportunity to develop his testimony. Furthermore, petitioner failed to show substantial prejudice. The panel also held that substantial evidence supported the BIA's conclusion that petitioner did not suffer past persecution where petitioner never alleged he was personally targeted by the Taliban and his testimony was consistent with an environment of generalized violence. Furthermore, the Pakistani government is not unwilling or unable to prevent harm and it would not be unreasonable for petitioner to relocate within Pakistan. Finally, the panel held that substantial evidence supports the BIA's determination that petitioner cannot meet his burden to obtain CAT protection.
Court Description: Immigration. Denying Pakistani national Bilal Hussain’s petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, the panel held that substantial evidence supported the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, and that the immigration judge did not deprive Hussain of due process. The panel held that the IJ provided Hussain, who was pro se, due process by providing details about the structure of the hearing and the availability of counsel, and asking numerous questions through which Hussain had ample opportunity to develop his testimony. The panel rejected Hussain’s assertion that the IJ repeatedly misled him about what he needed to show to meet his burdens by asking open-ended questions and failing to adequately probe the record. Rather, the panel explained that the IJ developed the record in its role as an independent fact-finder, and it was Hussain’s responses that determined the scope of the testimony elicited. The panel also rejected Hussain’s reliance on Jacinto v. INS, 208 F.3d 725 (9th Cir. 2000), for the proposition that IJs must go beyond their impartial role and instead essentially act as advocates for pro se asylum applicants. The panel explained that it could not read Jacinto’s imprecise “fully-develop-the-record-for-pro-se- petitioners” dicta as expansively as Hussain seeks without doing serious harm to the adversarial process established by HUSSAIN V. ROSEN 3 Congress for petitioners like Hussain. The panel also concluded that, even if Hussain could demonstrate error, he did not show prejudice, where he failed to point to any additional evidence concerning past persecution or the other grounds upon which the Board denied relief. The panel held that the evidence did not compel the finding of past persecution, where Hussain did not testify to any individualized physical attacks or threats, and he failed to show sufficient economic or psychological harm. The panel also held that Hussain failed to establish that the Pakistani government was unable to control the Taliban, noting that Hussain failed to report his two attacks to authorities, and that record evidence demonstrated that the government’s significant efforts to combat terrorism and sectarian violence had resulted in a substantial reduction in terror-related fatalities. Although Hussain argued that he did not report the attacks because police provide no protection, the panel noted that even if the government’s response to Hussain’s two attacks was lacking, the standard is not that the government can prevent all risk of harm. The panel held that Hussain failed to establish that he could not reasonably relocate within Pakistan to avoid future persecution. The panel rejected Hussain’s arguments that it would be unreasonable for him to relocate to an unfamiliar town without family, or because he would need to live in a rented space or with a host family. The panel also noted that Hussain failed to show there were restrictions on movement in areas outside the areas of high unrest that Hussain would assumedly seek to avoid. The panel also explained Hussain could not successfully argue that relocation was unreasonable because the country at large is subject to 4 HUSSAIN V. ROSEN generalized violence, because he did not show he is at risk of country-wide targeted persecution. The panel also held that substantial evidence supported the denial of CAT protection because Hussain failed to establish that he faces a particularized risk of torture, and never alleged, in the record or in his testimony, that he ever suffered any harm—“severe pain or suffering”—that rose to the level of torture.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.