Judge Lawrence VanDyke, in a fiery dissent Monday, accused his colleagues of frequently sympathizing with asylum seekers challenging the federal government, and of relying on “distorted” immigration precedent while saying the court too often overturns agency decisions.

In the underlying case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted Mario Rajib Flores Molina’s petition for review of his asylum claim, finding that threats he received in Nicaragua before fleeing the country were evidence of persecution. Judges Richard Paez and Edward Korman, sitting by designation, remanded the case back to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which originally denied Molina’s bid for asylum.