A Chaldean Iraqi was found not credible and not eligible for asylum, in particular because the Immigration Judge did not believe client was Chaldean because client did not speak the language Chaldean. The Court ignored other evidence that the alien was of Chaldean descent.
This case was appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that noted that it was improper for the Immigration to rely solely on language as a litmus test for ethnicity.
George P. Mann and Associates pointed out that U.S. State Department country reports support the fact that Saddam Hussein outlawed the teaching of ethnic languages in schools, only permitting Arabic to be taught. The Immigration Court also erred in ignoring other probative evidence such as clergy letters, testimony and a baptismal certificate from the Chaldean Church.