United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 18-2342 ___________________________ Jinfeng Tian lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner v. William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: May 7, 2019 Filed: July 30, 2019 ____________ Before ERICKSON, BOWMAN, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ GRASZ, Circuit Judge. Chinese citizen Jinfeng Tian petitions for review of a final order issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The BIA dismissed Tian’s appeal of an immigration judge’s (“IJ’s”) order that denied her asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We grant the petition, vacate the order of removal, and remand for further proceedings. I. Background Tian is a native of China and was thirty-three years old at the time of her removal proceeding. She came to the United States in 2011 and stated she did so because she was being persecuted for her Christian faith. She applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under CAT. While in China, Tian attended what is commonly referred to as a house church. She described her worship services as “family gatherings” where individuals would meet, sing gospel songs, and read Bible verses. The church leader would then teach, with a discussion following. The services were under the leadership of someone Tian referred to as “Priest Chen.” Tian was baptized in a home setting in China and later at a church in the United States. During her hearing before the IJ, Tian described her baptism, her acceptance of Christ as her savior, and what the baptism symbolized. Tian testified that before she fled China she was arrested by the Chinese police for participating in these “family gatherings.” She described how the police slapped, hit, and repeatedly kicked her during an interrogation. After her release, Tian stated she was placed under surveillance, required to report to Chinese government authorities each week on Sunday (her day of worship), and not allowed to associate with other house church members. Tian also claimed the police threatened to jail her for life if she failed to report. Tian further asserted her parents are still being questioned by the Chinese police as to her whereabouts. During Tian’s appearance before the IJ, she was asked oddly focused questions about her Christian faith. The government asked Tian questions about what the Baptist denomination means, how the Baptist church was founded, and why the Baptist church was created, to which she responded she did not know. The government next asked Tian about the organization of the Bible, to which she responded “there are two part[s] in the Bible, the Old Testament and the New -2- Testament.” Tian then gave brief descriptions about the Old and New Testaments and quoted her favorite passage from the New Testament book of Mark. The government also asked about her understanding of religious holidays, to which she gave complete answers. The government also extensively questioned who baptized Tian in the United ...
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