The petition was timely filed as provided by 8 U.S.C. Instead, the country reports support the Immigration Judge's finding that, more often than not, the FARC does not care about a business owner's political opinion. 80. E.R. VI-A, 110 Stat. On appeal, the BIA agreed that Petitioner was not eligible for asylum because she was not persecuted as a result of an actual or imputed political opinion. 69. Furthermore, when presented with the virtually identical claim of persecution by a Philippine native opposed to paying the New People's Army's exactions, the Ninth Circuit rejected the claim because it concluded, like the Fourth Circuit here, that the threats were motivated by the victim's economic ability to pay, not his or her political opinion. 1158(b)(1)(A). at 1029; that "Osorio's activities clearly evince[d] the political opinion that strikes by municipal workers should be legal and that workers should be given more rights," id. 1997) (generally discussing asylum based upon imputed political opinion); see also INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 482 (1992) ("Nor is there any indication (assuming, arguendo, it would suffice) that the guerrillas erroneously believed that Elias-Zacarias' refusal [to fight with them] was politically based."). "); Perlera-Escobar v. Executive Office for Immigration, 894 F.2d 1292, 1297-98 (11th Cir. App. In INS v. Elias-Zacarias, the Supreme Court reasoned that it is not enough for an asylum applicant to prove that he refused to cooperate with guerrillas because of his political opinion. 80 (citing . . Quite the opposite, within the Ninth Circuit, petitioner's claim would have been governed by Sangha v. INS, supra, where the Ninth Circuit, like the Fourth Circuit here, declined to apply the imputed political opinion rationale in the absence of any specific evidence that the persecutors acted out of an animus towards the alien's perceived political views. 30 0 obj INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483 (1992) (emphasis added). 8 C.F.R. However, the IJ noted that if the BIA determined that the threats could be imputed to Portillo, he may be able to establish past persecution since death threats constitute harm rising to the level of persecution. J.A. Law of Refugee Status: Among those acts that have been construed as expressions of po- CONCLUSION The petition for a writ of certiorari should be denied. at 1031. Like his father, Cardona Rivera supported the Liberal Party by distributing fliers and lending vehicles for Party activities. 5 0 obj App. The United Kingdom 2003 Country Report and the 2003 U.S. Department of State Country Report state that the FARC targets small and medium-sized business owners for extortion. ." WebCollins. 1-2. . Petitioner contends (Pet. Pet. Petitioner was not active in Philippine politics; he testified that he supported neither the rebel movements nor the government. 6 0 obj To the contrary, "the determination of refugee status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol * * * is incumbent upon the Contracting State in whose territory the refugee finds himself." In other words, if the government persecutes someone because they think that person has a political opinion, they can qualify for asylum even if The BIA's jurisdiction arose under 8 C.F.R. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA. . Even if [the evidence compels the conclusion that the petitioner refused to cooperate with the guerrillas because of his political opinion, the petitioner] still has to establish that the record also compels the conclusion that he has a well-founded fear that the guerrillas will persecute him because of that political opinion, rather than because of his refusal to [cooperate] with them. Id. 9 See also Cuevas v. INS, 43 F.3d 1167, 1171 (7th Cir. Reg. A.R. 16-18) that this Court should "revisit" its decision in Elias-Zacarias because, he contends, that decision conflicts with the "political values" underlying the United Nations Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, Jan. 31, 1967, 19 U.S.T. [A]n imputed political opinion, whether correctly or incorrectly attributed, can constitute a ground of political persecution within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Chun Gao v. Gonzales, 424 F.3d 122, 129 (2d Cir.2005) (internal alterations and quotations omitted). The Board found it unnecessary to reach the issue of whether the persecution petitioner claimed to face was country-wide. An applicant may qualify as a refugee if she can show she was a victim of persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution upon return to her home country. 1 E.R. Ruggero J. Aldisert, Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, sitting by designation. The court concluded that petitioner's negative view of gangs does not amount to a "political opinion" within the meaning of the immigration laws, and that substantial evidence supports the BIA's decision that he has not established a likelihood of future torture if he were to be removed to El Salvador. The petitioners next argue that they refused to pay the war tax on account of their family's political opposition to the FARC and this political opposition is sufficient to render the likely persecution of their family on account of their political opinion. 1101 et seq., as amended by the Refugee Act of 1980, Pub. 2; A.R. 
1254(1). Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, the Attorney General may grant asylum if an alien meets the statutory definition of a refugee. See 8 U.S.C. Petitioner also testified that the New People's Army extorted "taxes" from landowners and peasants alike, id. 3338, 1998 WL 99555 (BIA Feb. 20, 1998) (fear of persecution insufficient where it did not "exist throughout that country"); In re C-A-L-, Interim Dec. No. It may be found, however, on the indicated pages of the Certified Administrative Record, which was filed with court of appeals and is part of the court of appeals' record in this case. ( en noun ) The act or process of putting in; infusion. compels the conclusion that he has a `well-founded fear' that the guerrillas will persecute him because of that political opinion." There are times when a persecutor can harm someone because of a perception or belief about that person, even without a solid basis for this belief. <>38]/P 22 0 R/Pg 40 0 R/S/Link>> [27] HAWKINS, Circuit Judge, specially concurring: Quite frankly, the disposition of this appeal requires no more than an unpublished memorandum, as the result reached, with which I agree, involves a routine application of our asylum law. Hohn v. United States, 118 S. Ct. 1969, 1977 (1998). Based on the foregoing discussion, we must deny the petitions for review of the denial of the petitioners' applications for asylum and withholding of removal. II 1996). ARGUMENT 1. The immigration judge found that the threat was received in June 1989 (A.R. 8 This Court recently denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in a case where the petitioner, like petitioner here, contended that record-specific variations in the outcomes of imputed political opinion cases constituted a circuit conflict meriting this Court's review. %PDF-1.7
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Secure .gov websites use HTTPS She did not express any political views, neutral or otherwise, to the guerrillas who attempted to recruit her in 1989. A.R. Withholding deportation is distinct from granting asylum. It doesnt seem that the IJ considered whether the gang members imputed a political opinion to the act of refusal per se. or agrees to accept from another: (1) any benefit as consideration for the recipient's decision, opinion, recommendation, vote, or other exercise of discretion as a public servant, party official, or See Majority Opinion at 5412 ("Although she was forced to contribute her nursing skills to them for nine days until she escaped, the Perquin guerrillas did not pursue her and they did not punish her."). 9, 10, 12)) either that the New People's Army acted with such dual motivations when it threatened or harmed those who failed to comply with its monetary demands, or that the New People's Army read a political message into petitioner's failure to pay. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. The opinions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Pet. The Board and the court of appeals agreed that petitioner had produced no evidence that the New People's Army imputed any political opinion to petitioner. Petitioner seeks (Pet. App. 38 0 obj Id. The petitioners are all natives and citizens of Colombia. Submitted December 9, 1999 San Francisco, California. On June 24, 1998, while working at the family's glass business, Cardona Rivera's father and younger brother were shot and killed by guerrillas. The petitioners argue that the record of their family's experiences in Colombia compels the conclusion that the FARC would persecute them upon their return and compels the conclusion that the persecution would be on account of their actual or imputed political opinion. App. On 12 June 2016, the Court of Appeal ruled on the issue of persecution based on imputed political opinion in Secretary of State for the Home Department v MSM (Somalia) and UNHCR (Intervener). See 502 U.S. at 482 (evidence of forced recruitment into a guerrilla group, or retaliation for resisting forced recruitment, alone is insufficient to establish persecution on account of political opinion, because "[e]ven a person who supports a guerrilla movement might resist recruitment for a variety of [non-political] reasons").9 Furthermore, as the immigration judge and the court of appeals noted (A.R. In sum, findings of fact made by administrative agencies, such as the BIA, may be reversed by this [C]ourt only when the record compels a reversal; the mere fact that the record may support a contrary conclusion is not enough to justify a reversal of the administrative findings. Id. 97-98; Pet. A.R. endobj To qualify for asylum an applicant "must tie the persecution to a protected cause . Petitioner applied for asylum under 8 U.S.C. 24 0 obj at 5. WebIn addition to political opinions, a persons imputed political opinion is also a ground for asylum in the U.S. 1999). 1990) (pointing out that acceptance of neutrality as a political opinion "would create a sinkhole that would swallow the rule"); Cruz-Lopez v. INS, 802 F.2d 1518, 1520 n. 3 (4th Cir. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. However, petitioner, whose native language is English (A.R. 104-132, Tit. Indeed, she had no contact with any part of the guerrilla movement until eight years later. Neither theory is persuasive. Similarly, in Gonzales-Neyra v. INS, 122 F.3d 1293 (1997), amended by 133 F.3d 726 (1998), "Gonzales-Neyra provided evidence that he was persecuted, that he had a political opinion, that he expressed it to his persecutors, and that they threatened him only after he expressed his opinion," and that "the Shining Path representatives made it quite clear to Gonzales-Neyra that his political views motivated their hostility and threats." United States v. Johnston, 268 U.S. 220, 227 (1925) (this Court "do[es] not grant a certiorari to review evidence and discuss specific facts"); cf. She claims she is eligible for asylum because she is unable or unwilling to return to El Salvador "because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of . 61-71. "This presumption may be overcome by evidence that since the time the persecution occurred conditions . 31,947 (1998) ("The Board and the Federal courts have long acknowledged the requirement of countrywide persecution as an integral component of the refugee definition, which cannot be met if the applicant reasonably could be expected to seek protection by relocating to another part of the country in question."). Pet. Ibid. endstream 2 . In addition, the BIA has found that persecution can be based on an imputed political opinion. Silvia Rivera-Moreno, a.k.a. Prasad, 101 F.3d at 617 (internal quotation marks omitted). typhoon belt countries; two girls and a guy; mel e learning elysium 32. endobj "This Court will intervene only in what ought to be the rare instance when the standard appears to have been misapprehended or grossly misapplied." Under the substantial evidence test, we view the record evidence in the light most favorable to the agency's decision and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that decision. Adefemi, 386 F.3d at 1027. It is quite plausible, indeed likely, that [persecution] would be engaged in by the guerrillas in order to augment their [income] rather than show their displeasure with the petitioners' political opinion. Because Rivera-Moreno's deportation proceedings commenced before April 1, 1997, this court continues to exercise jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 8 U.S.C. App. Ibid. In August 2001, the Immigration and Naturalization Service also charged Cardona Rivera with removability for remaining in the United States for a time longer than permitted. On the merits of the case, the majority opinion implies that Rivera-Moreno's nine-day forced recruitment immediately following her expression of neutrality did not constitute persecution. show that [her] opinion was articulated sufficiently for it to be the basis of . political opinion." An official website of the United States government. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. at 816 n. 2. 1-6) is unpublished, but the decision is noted at 162 F.3d 1155 (Table). L. No. . 1993) (alien's fear of retribution for his refusal to participate in illegal drug activities was not a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion). Pet. <>1]/P 6 0 R/Pg 40 0 R/S/Link>> The rebel movements nor the government decision is noted at 162 F.3d 1155 ( )! Indeed, she had no contact with any part of the guerrilla movement until eight years later Appeals (.... He has a ` well-founded fear ' that the threat was received June! 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