NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 19a0004n.06 No. 17-4029 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED KARIDJA CISSE, ) Jan 04, 2019 ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk Petitioner, ) ) ON PETITION FOR REVIEW v. ) FROM THE UNITED STATES ) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION MATTHEW G. WHITAKER, Acting Attorney ) APPEALS General, ) ) Respondent. ) BEFORE: CLAY and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges; ZOUHARY, District Judge.* PER CURIAM. Petitioner Karidja Cisse, a native and citizen of Ivory Coast, seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of her request for cancellation of removal. The petition is DISMISSED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. BACKGROUND Cisse first entered the United States without authorization in 1993. Since then, she has filed three applications for asylum. This appeal relates to the third application. After an interview with an asylum officer concerning that application, Cisse was placed in removal proceedings. Cisse conceded removability, but applied for several forms of relief, including asylum and withholding and cancellation of removal. * The Honorable Jack Zouhary, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, sitting by designation. No. 17-4029, Cisse v. Whitaker First Hearing The Immigration Judge (IJ) held a hearing in May 2009. Cisse testified, as did Mamarouda Fofana (or “Mike,” Cisse’s oldest son born in the United States) and Gloria May Williams-Cage (a friend) on Cisse’s behalf. At the outset of the hearing, the IJ acknowledged that Cisse’s previous asylum applications confused him somewhat. The IJ then asked questions to ensure he understood the “complete . . . procedural situation.” Cisse’s testimony took up the bulk of the hearing. She shared that she has five children, including two sons born in the United States. At the time of the hearing, those sons were eleven and nine. Although the children’s primary language is English, Cisse testified that “[t]hey speak D[i]oula, which is from [her] country.” She told the IJ that “[m]edically they are okay” and they do not have any learning disabilities. Cisse also described her relationship with the children’s father. Although the father lives in the same city, Cisse sees him “very rare[ly].” The father does not pay any formal child support but does provide Cisse with some financial assistance. Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the IJ questioned Cisse extensively about her several asylum applications and discrepancies between those applications. At one point, the IJ was confused about the paternity of Cisse’s five children. And at another, the IJ was confused by a comment that Cisse had “two mothers.” The IJ asked follow-up questions until this confusion was resolved. The testimony from the remaining witnesses was brief. Mike testified that his mother “does everything” for him and that he could not live without her. He “sometimes” sees his father. Williams-Cage testified that she helped Cisse purchase her first house in the United States and that Cisse had never been in trouble with the law. -2- No. 17-4029, Cisse v. Whitaker First Decision The IJ denied Cisse’s ...
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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals