Case: 19-60647 Document: 00516323396 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/18/2022 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED May 18, 2022 No. 19-60647 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Giscard Nkenglefac, Petitioner, versus Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General, Respondent. Petition for Review of the Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A216 591 99 Before Higginson, Willett, and Ho, Circuit Judges. Stephen A. Higginson, Circuit Judge: Petitioner Giscard Nkenglefac, a native and citizen of Cameroon, applied for admission into the United States on May 9, 2018. The immigration judge (“IJ”), Agnelis Reese, denied Nkenglefac’s application for relief from removal and ordered him removed to Cameroon after determining that Nkenglefac was not credible. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) subsequently affirmed the IJ’s determination, and Nkenglefac was removed to Cameroon. Nkenglefac now petitions for review Case: 19-60647 Document: 00516323396 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/18/2022 No. 19-60647 of the BIA’s dismissal of his appeal from the IJ’s denial of application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Nkenglefac challenges the IJ’s reliance on his U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and asylum credible fear interviews that were not entered into the hearing record of the removal proceeding, nor, indeed, raised in that hearing at all, to make an adverse credibility finding. I. A. Nkenglefac testified before the IJ1 that he was a native and citizen of Cameroon, living in the city of Muyuka. After graduating high school in 2008, he was prevented from obtaining further education because he spoke English instead of French. In 2013, after working two other jobs, Nkenglefac bought a taxi and became a taxi driver. In January 2014, Nkenglefac became a member of the Southern Cameroon National Council (“SCNC”), a Cameroonian political party. As a member of the party, Nkenglefac organized and attended political meetings, protests, and rallies. He also attempted to recruit new party members. The SCNC’s goal was for the English-speaking southern part of Cameroon to secede from Cameroon. On cross-examination, he acknowledged that the government of Cameroon considers the SCNC to be a criminal organization. Nkenglefac was arrested in January 2017, while attending a secret SCNC meeting at a house in Muyuka. There were approximately 80 to 100 people present when police arrived. Some people fled and escaped; others, including Nkenglefac, were caught and arrested. Nkenglefac was held at a police station for seven days before his release. At the time of his arrest, 1 The information contained in the following section of this opinion was taken from the hearing record, which – except as discussed below – has not been contested. 2 Case: 19-60647 Document: 00516323396 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/18/2022 No. 19-60647 police forced him to stand with his arms over his head and jump like a frog for 30 minutes. Once Nkenglefac arrived at the police station, police interviewed him for 10 minutes and then placed him in an unventilated cell. The police beat him with a baton …
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