Cordero-Trejo v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Juan Francisco Cordero-Trejo (Cordero) (defendant) entered the United States from Guatemala, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (plaintiff) initiated deportation proceedings before an immigration judge (IJ). In proceedings, Cordero testified that he began working with a religious organization dedicated to providing medical care, food, and clothing to needy Guatemalans. Cordero testified that members of the group were threatened by armed men when working in rural areas and that he started receiving threatening anonymous phone calls telling him to stop working with the group. Cordero testified that his brothers were attacked and seriously injured by armed men who stated these attacks were related to Cordero’s work with the religious group. Cordero testified that in November 1987, the military stopped him while on a mission in a rural area and accused him of inciting rebellion. Cordero testified that in 1989, he had to suspend his work with social workers because of anonymous threats related to his missionary work. Cordero testified that in June 1990, he stopped working with the group, hoping the threats would end if he stopped working with the group. Cordero testified that in October 1990, he was detained and robbed by members of a death squad and that these men told him to flee the country. Cordero also submitted documentary evidence about the situation in Guatemala. The IJ made an adverse credibility finding and denied Cordero’s application for asylum. Cordero appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which affirmed the IJ decision. The BIA found that inconsistencies in the application rendered Cordero’s testimony incredible. Cordero appealed to the First Circuit, arguing that the BIA erred in summarily adopting the IJ’s decision. Cordero argued that the BIA ignored substantial evidence in the record and accepted inappropriate assumptions about Guatemalan society in its conclusion about his well-founded fear of persecution.