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testimonycredibility
testimonywillcredibility

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Diaz-Perez v. Holder

Facts

Leoncio Diaz-Perez, a native of Mexico, last entered the U.S. near Brownsville, Texas, on May 1, 2004. He was later involved in a car accident in North Dakota in 2008, during which he admitted to a Border Patrol agent that he entered the U.S. illegally. The agent documented that Diaz-Perez reported he entered afoot, contradicting his later testimony that he entered by car. The immigration judge (IJ) found significant discrepancies in the testimonies of Diaz-Perez and his mother-in-law regarding the circumstances of his entry.

Diaz-Perez, a native and citizen of Mexico, last entered the United States at or near Brownsville, Texas, on May 1, 2004. On December 28, 2008, according to Border Patrol Agent Benjamin C. Lotvedt, Diaz-Perez was involved in a car accident west of Mandan, North Dakota. Agent Lotvedt reported that when Diaz-Perez could only produce a Mexican identification card, the responding officer contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assist in identifying Diaz-Perez. Diaz-Perez admitted he entered the U.S. illegally, and DHS took him into custody for processing.

Issue

Did the IJ and BIA err in finding that Diaz-Perez did not provide credible testimony regarding his entry into the U.S. and that he was removable for failing to prove he had been inspected and admitted?

Did the IJ and BIA err in finding that Diaz-Perez did not provide credible testimony regarding his entry into the U.S. and that he was removable for failing to prove he had been inspected and admitted?

Rule

The IJ's findings of fact, including adverse credibility findings, are reviewed under a substantial evidence standard, and must be upheld unless the evidence compels a contrary conclusion.

The IJ's findings of fact, including adverse credibility findings, are reviewed under a substantial evidence standard, and must be upheld unless the evidence compels a contrary conclusion.

Analysis

The court applied the substantial evidence standard and found that the IJ's determinations were supported by the record. The IJ discredited Diaz-Perez's testimony based on contradictions with the I-213 report and inconsistencies in the testimonies of both Diaz-Perez and his mother-in-law. The IJ concluded that the evidence did not support Diaz-Perez's claim of having entered the U.S. by car, and the BIA affirmed this finding.

Applying these standards, we conclude substantial evidence supports the IJ's determinations, affirmed by the BIA, that (1) Diaz-Perez and Williams did not provide credible testimony Diaz-Perez entered the U.S. by car in 2004, and (2) Diaz-Perez was removable because he failed to prove he had been inspected and admitted as he claimed. The I-213, which Diaz-Perez conceded was an accurate report of the information he provided to Agent Lotvedt in all other respects, provided strong evidence Diaz-Perez entered the U.S. afoot without inspection or admission, rather than in a car as Diaz-Perez and Williams testified.

Conclusion

The Eighth Circuit denied Diaz-Perez's petition for review, affirming the IJ's and BIA's findings regarding his credibility and removability.

We deny the petition for review.

Who won?

The government prevailed in the case as the court upheld the IJ's and BIA's findings that Diaz-Perez's testimony was not credible and that he was removable.

The government prevailed in the case as the court upheld the IJ's and BIA's findings that Diaz-Perez's testimony was not credible and that he was removable.

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