Nanyange v. Gonzales
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit
2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 8925

Ms. Nanyange, who had applied for asylum and withholding of removal, was denied relief by the Immigration Judge because the IJ found that Ms. Nanyange’s testimony was inconsistent and therefore not credible. The BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision.

The 7^th Circuit, however, vacated the IJ’s decision and granted Nanyange’s petition for review, because the IJ’s credibility determination was not based on “cogent reasons.” The court found that this adverse credibility decision was based solely on trivial and easily explained discrepancies that did not address the important or crucial issues in Ms. Nanyange’s case, which was based on a claim of forced detainment and rape by government officials for her support of the opposition presidential candidate. The 7^th Circuit further explained that the IJ’s credibility decision is normally overturned only under “extraordinary circumstances,” but the IJ’s careful review is critical because an adverse credibility determination effectively ends an alien’s asylum claim.

The court, subsequently, remanded the case for a new determination of Ms. Nanyange’s eligibility for asylum.

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