a Christian from Egypt

The government lawyer asked the Christian from Egypt:
-where is the original of the police report?
-did the police actually investigate your case, or did they just listen to what you told them?
Did the police interview any other witnesses?
-where is your passport?
You say your government hates you? but isn't it true that your government gave you good things, such as : 1] passport 2] government job 3] study at government university?
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you went to the US Embassy in your country to apply for a visa? you filled out a form, and gave reasons? and I am holding your application right here in my hand in the courtroom? I know more about your anwers than you do?
What questions did they ask you, and what answers did you give?
what documents did you give to the Embassy?
did you tell the truth to get your visa? why not?
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tell me about all of your international travel!
You say your country is dangerous and full of dangerous, evil people who hate you?
However, you left your country in 2005, and then you voluntarily returned?
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You had problems in City #1 in your country? OK, so why not live in City #2? why not in city #3? did you even try to live elsewhere?
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You say a man knocked you unconscious? why? why did he do that? what was his motive?
your mother is the same religion as you? but she still lives in the country? how come mother is not dead, if they hate people of your religion? go live with mother! she is happy enough, isn't she?

questions asked of a "pro-American" from Iraq

The Asylum Officer asked: When you helped the US Army, what were your duties? did you live inside the Green Zone?
-where did you live in Baghdad? where did you sleep at night? why did you move around so often and stay at so many different places?
-who lives now at the house on 39th Street? who owns that house?
-who lives now at the house on 3rd Street? who owns that house? how is rent paid? rent is paid to whom?
Tell me about all of your passports: when was passport #1 issued? when does it expire?
-when does passport #2 expire? where is it, physically, right now? in Baghdad? in whose hands?
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when you saw the death threat, how did you feel? what thoughts went through your mind?
-your daughter was missing for two days? when you finally saw her, what did you notice about her? what did she tell you?
Who kidnapped your daughter? why? why did they let her go?
Did you report her kidnapping to the police? why not?
After the threat, why not move immediately? why not report it to the police? did you tell anyone about it?
Are you still receiving threats? NO? OK, so maybe the bad guys have forgotten about you?
-January 6th is an important day in Iraq, because it is the "birthday" of the Army?
what would happen if you returned to your country tomorrow?
is there anything else?

democracy activist from Bolivia

The Asylum Officer asked:
-tell me the dates of birth of each of your 3 children
what was your last job?
who prepared your application
why are you applying for asylum?
pl. show me all originals, all envelopes, and all passports
When did you first start having problems?
was your father politically active?
was your mother politically active?
Give me more details about her activities! [what would a movie camera record: she sat at a desk and made phone calls? she stood on the sidewalk and shouted slogans?]
When did you get politically involved? why?
what was your motive?
You wrote articles? give me an example of one article!
what kind of response did you get to your article?
Tell me your emotions when the bad guys walked into your house
You received phone threats? from whom? give me an example: what did the man say?
You believe they were agents of the government? why do you believe that?
What was their job/position in the government?
what was the worst threat over the phone?
Tell me as many details as possible! tell me your emotions!
What thoughts went through your mind at that time?
When did you move out of the house? where did you live during each month of the past five years?
Were you able to move around freely?
Why did you continue your activities, even though the threats were getting worse?
What was your husband doing all this time? was he able to continue to work?
Did he have any problems?
Why did your children visit you, if things were so bad in your city?
How did you get this letter? from the mail? from the hand of someone who flew here on an airplane? where is the envelope?
You received threats in January? but you only left your country in December? why the delay?
did it take time to get a visa, and to get money for airplane tickets?
Upon arrival here in USA, why not apply for asylum immediately? why another long delay?
was it hard to find a lawyer? did you have other problems here in USA, such as getting a place to live?
What emotions did husband feel about your activities?
What organizations did you join in your country? what is the purpose of each one?
What organizations did you join here in USA? why did you join? why have you still not joined?
How did you find out about the last threat? who callled you on the phone? how did that person find out?
What would happen if you return?
You lived in the city of La Paz? so, why don't you go live in another city?
You have been gone from your country for two years? they have forgotten about you, haven't they? after your arrival here in USA, you have been quiet and you have done nothing, correct?
If you have such strong political views, how come you are not active here in USA?
Is there anything else? Yes,?what?
is there anything else?

"pro-Western" person from Iraq

The Asylum Officer asked this of Mr. Z, a Shia from Iraq, who supported the USA and advocated for "Western" values:
-you arrived in USA when? what was your last address in your country? Tell me your last four addresses in your country
-why are you applying for asylum today?
-when did you get your first passport? how get it? when did you get your second passport? where is it today? do the stamps inside the passport give us more information than you can?
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did your family ever live in the Green Zone? why not? there was space, or there was not?
-what day were you kidnapped in June 2006? you were held for how long? how many hours?
When were you released? why? why weren't you killed?
-You say the taxi driver delivered you to the bad guys, because he "knew"you were Shia?
how did he know you were Shia?
-you were driven to a "check point"? what does "check-point" mean? you must stop there, or not?
-is a Shia accent different from a Sunni accent? yes? no? it is different or not? what is the difference?
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why did the bad guys let you go? why didn't they kill you?
-some people have a "Southern" accent? some people have a "Baghdad" accent?
-don't Shia people and Sunni people both live in Baghdad? so their accents are the same or different?
-is your last name Shia? if a person looks at your I.D., he knows your last name and can guess that you are a Shia? the driver did not look at your I.D., did he? so, he did not know your last name, did he?
-here in the USA, accents do not reveal religion, do they? if someone has a "New York" accent, do you know what religion he is?
-do Shia people use certain words and phrases, but Sunnis do not? like what?
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what were your injuries at the time of your release? a head wound, with stitches? but Dr. X wrote a letter and does not talk about your stitches?
-You gave me a letter from Dr. X, but you did not actually read it? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about his letter than you do? I read it, but you didn't?
-did you return to school, or were you too traumatized? what does page 4 of your asylum application say? something different from what you just said? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about your asylum application than you do?
-your uncle's letter says you returned to school? yes? No? you don't know? you gave me his letter, but you did not read it?
-you say you were kidnapped. Did you tell anyone that you had been kidnapped? did you tell them very soon after the event? or, did you wait a long time and then tell them?
-when did someone paint a slogan on the wall of your house? what year did that happen? what was the address of the house?
-what would happen if you return to your country?
-you arrived in USA in early 2008, but you only applied for asylum in mid-2009? why the delay? was it hard to find out about the asylum process? was it hard to find a lawyer?
-have you had any contact with police here in the USA?
-ever had any training with guns? have you ever held and shot a gun?
-is there anything else? YES? what?
OK, now, is there anything else?

protestor from Cameroon

The Asylum Officer asked these questions of a protestor from Cameroon who suffered no physical harm:
1. what was your address in Douala? if the street has no name, and the house has no number, how would the police find you? they would ask a man in the neighborhood where you lived?
2. do you have a political opinion? what is it?
3. you say you "supported" the SDF? what is the difference between being a "supporter" and a "member"?
4. why weren't you a member?
5. what kind of difficulty did you have with the government?
6. how did you protest? what did you do, specifically? you parked your truck on road, and then stood by it and shouted slogans?
7. what did the other protestors do?
8. do you know the names of the other protestors?
9. did one of them write a letter of support for you? not even one? why not? did you even ask one person to write a letter of support?
10. In March 2009, what did your wife tell you? what thoughts went through your mind when she told you that?
11. why is the Government looking for you? are you important?
12. is the government still interested in you, even now, two years later?
YOUR VISA
-how did you get the tourist visa? did you fill out a two-page form? was it form DS 156?
-did you answer in writing? is this a copy of what you filled out two years ago?
[how did the Asylum Officer get a copy of that form?]
-did you go in person to the U.S. Embassy? how many times? what was the conversation? what did the man ask, and what did you answer? did you tell lies? why did you tell lies?
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-if you return to your country tomorrow, what would happen? why do you think they would arrest you at the airport?
-after you left your country, did your wife suffer? how? why?
-did the other drivers suffer? how? why?
-let's look closely at your driver's license: what does each date mean? what city were you in at each time?
-does the driver's license "know" more about you than you do?
-does your passport "know" more about you than you do?
-is there anything else? yes, oK, now, is there anything else?

how does a Judge know if you are lying?

The court in Mitondo v. Mukasey, 523 F.3d 784, 789 (7th Cir. 2008) said that a liar has a tendency to not give lots of details. The more information you give, the greater are the chances that some of it could be determined later to be false. "As a result, liars tend to say less, and to provide fewer details."

And also, liars tend to distance themselves psychologically from their falsehoods, and so they tend to include fewer references to themselves, and their feelings, in their stories.

A liar might say, "the guard hit me." A truth-teller might say, "The guard reminded me of my high school math teacher. When he grabbed his club, I knew he was going to hit me. I feared he would break my glasses. After he hit me, I felt blood on my neck. I felt dizzy; I hoped he would not hit me on my eyes."

What thoughts went through your mind? [as the guard entered the room]. this is an easy question for the truth-teller to answer.

Truth-tellers have normal amounts of memory failure. They know they have forgotten a few details, and are happy to admit it. Liars, however, develop super memories and claim to remember the smallest of details.

is your government still interested in you?

Mr. Matovu, from Uganda, was denied asylum by the court because:

1. He testified that "individuals came to my house and made threats;" however, who were these people? did they work for the government? what was their motive? Matovu did not know.

2. He testified that "gunmen" killed his father and brother; however, who were the "gunmen"? what was their motive? Matovu did not know.

3. Matovu said his government hates him; however, his children still go to a government school; he obtained a passport; the government let him travel freely. This shows the government does NOT hate him. Also, no one bothers his wife or other family members. This shows the government does not still care about him.