No. 19-1155October Term 2019Decided Jun 1, 2021Updated May 24, 2026
Garland v. Dai
Garland v. Ming Dai
This immigration case concerned whether the Ninth Circuit wrongly treated Ming Dai’s asylum testimony as automatically credible and true because the immigration judge and Board of Immigration Appeals did not make an explicit adverse credibility finding.
Case status
Decided 9-0 · June 1, 2021 · Opinion by Justice Gorsuch
Read the opinion (PDF)- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jun 1, 2021
- What it's about
This immigration case concerned whether the Ninth Circuit wrongly treated Ming Dai’s asylum testimony as automatically credible and true because the immigration judge and Board of Immigration Appeals did not make an explicit adverse credibility finding. It also asked whether the court of appeals went too far by deciding for itself that Dai was entitled to relief instead of sending the case back to the immigration agency.
Question presented
1. Whether a court of appeals may conclusively presume that an asylum applicant's testimony is credible and true whenever an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals adjudicates an application without making an explicit adverse credibility determination. 2. Whether the court of appeals violated the remand rule as set forth in INS v. Ventura, 537 U.S. 12 (2002) (per curiam), when it determined in the first instance that respondent was eligible for asylum and entitled to withholding of removal.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Decision released Jun 1, 2021
- Area
Administrative Law, Immigration
Timing
Decided June 1, 2021
The Court released its decision on June 1, 2021 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity3
Brief added: Questions Presented
May 24, 2026 | Court records
Opinion added: opinion
Jun 1, 2021 | Court records
Brief added: Petition
Mar 20, 2020 | Court records
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Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology