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2007

  • CA8 Upholds Adverse Credibility; Finds Changed Conditions in Sierra Leone (12/16/2007)
    The court upheld the IJ’s adverse credibility finding noting that Petitioner’s nationality was in question because of an ID card that appeared altered to match information on a false birth certificate. The court upheld the BIA’s holding that changed conditions precluded a clear probability of persecution finding. (Diallo v. Mukasey, 11/19/07). AILA Doc. No. 07121662.
  • CA8 Rejects One-Year Deadline Asylum Claim Based on UN Refugee Protocol (9/21/2007)
    The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review Petitioner’s reasons for filing outside of the one-year deadline. The court found, however, that it did have jurisdiction to address the question of law whether the one-year deadline conflicted with the UN Refugee Protocol, but found the argument without merit. (Purwantono v. Gonzales, 8/17/07). AILA Doc. No. 07092168.
  • CA8 Rejects Asylum Claim of Blind Albino from Indonesia (9/17/2007)
    The court found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s finding that the harassment and economic deprivation suffered by Petitioner in Indonesia did not amount to past persecution. Similarly, the court upheld the BIA’s finding that Petitioner did not have a well-founded fear of future persecution. (Makatengkeng v. Gonzales, 8/3/07). AILA Doc. No. 07091763.
  • CA8 Finds Albania Applicant Suffered Past Persecution and Remands to BIA (8/7/2007)
    The court found that the evidence compelled a finding that Petitioner suffered past persecution in Albania based on his political opinion. The court found that the IJ did not consider the question of whether the government met its burden of rebutting the presumption of a well-founded fear and remanded the case. (Sholla v. Gonzales, July 5, 2007). AILA Doc. No. 07080762.
  • CA8 Finds Conviction for Transporting Loaded Hunting Rifle a Removable Firearms Offense (7/24/2007)
    The court held that a misdemeanor conviction for transportation of a loaded firearm under Minn. Statute §97B.045, where the firearm is a hunting rifle in the possession of a sport hunter lawfully hunting, is a removable firearms offense that does not fall under the “sporting, recreational or cultural” exception. (Awad v. Gonzales, 7/20/07). AILA Doc. No. 07072467.
  • CA8 Holds IJ Improperly Excluded Expert Report and Testimony in Asylum Case (6/22/2007)
    The court held that the IJ’s exclusion of experts’ reports and testimony likely affected the outcome of the asylum proceedings and resulted in the violation of Petitioner’s due process rights. The court expressed concern over the unreliable translation throughout the hearing and reversed the adverse credibility finding. (Tun v. Gonzales, 5/21/07). AILA Doc. No. 07062267.
  • CA8 Finds Past FGM Is Persecution and Basis for Asylum (6/11/2007)
    The court joined the growing number of circuits that has held that FGM rises to the level of persecution. The court held that the persecution the applicant in this case suffered was on account of her membership in a particular social group, namely Somali females, and she was entitled to a well-founded fear presumption. (Hassan v. Gonzales, 5/7/07). AILA Doc. No. 07061165.
  • CA8 Finds IJ’s Bias Requires Remand in Albanian Homosexual Asylum Case (5/8/2007)
    The court held that the IJ’s credibility finding was not supported by substantial evidence. The court noted that the BIA excised certain findings by the IJ, but found that the BIA did not explain how the remaining findings were not tainted by the IJ’s bias. The court asked that the case be sent to a new IJ on remand. (Shahinaj v. Gonzales, 4/2/07). AILA Doc. No. 07050865.
  • CA8 Upholds BIA’s MTR Denial for Failure to Show Lack of Relocation Option (5/8/2007)
    The court found that there was no evidence that the North Sulawesi region of Indonesia was unsafe for Christians. The court held that without credible and substantial evidence concerning the impossibility or unreasonable of internal relocation, the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to reopen. (Poniman v. Gonzales, 4/2/07). AILA Doc. No. 07050864.
  • CA8 Remands Ugandan Lesbian Asylum Claim due to Inadequate Findings by IJ (4/23/2007)
    The court found that the IJ erred in concluding that to qualify for asylum, Petitioner had to demonstrate persecution at the hands of government officials. The court noted that persecution may be inflicted by the government or by a persons or an organization that the government was unable or unwilling to control. (Nabulwala v. Gonzales, 3/21/07). AILA Doc. No. 07042365.
  • CA8 Holds LPR Originally Admitted as Refugee is Subject to Removal (4/18/2007)
    The court joined the Third and Ninth Circuits and held that a person who enters the U.S. as a refugee, adjusts his status to lawful permanent resident and is thereafter convicted of a removable crime, is subject to removal even though his refugee status was never terminated. (Xiong v. Gonzales, 4/12/07). AILA Doc. No. 07041868.
  • CA8 Finds Iraqi Filed Frivolous Asylum Claim; Denies Asylum, W/H, and VAWA (4/10/2007)
    The court found that the IJ’s determination that Petitioner filed a frivolous asylum application was supported by substantial evidence. The court also found that substantial evidence supported the IJ’s negative credibility finding and his rejection of Petitioner’s claim that her will was overpowered by her husband. (Aziz v. Gonzales, 3/1/07). AILA Doc. No. 07041063.
  • CA8 Upholds Finding that Indonesian Christians Lack Well-Founded Fear (4/10/2007)
    The court held that the past incidents suffered by Petitioners did not amount to persecution because they were limited to minor damage to their car and home, a robbery, and fleeing from a church unharmed. The court also found that based on the record evidence Petitioners failed to establish a well-founded fear. (Lengkong v. Gonzales, 3/1/07). AILA Doc. No. 07041062.
  • CA8 Finds Lack of Jurisdiction to Review Timeliness of Asylum Application (4/3/2007)
    The court found that it was precluded by INA §208(a)(3) from reviewing the timeliness of an asylum application. The court noted that it was granted limited jurisdiction under the REAL ID Act to review constitutional claims or errors of law, but that the date of entry at issue was a factual finding. (Yakovenko v. Gonzales, 2/23/07). AILA Doc. No. 07040366.
  • CA8 Remands Mexican CAT Claim to BIA (4/3/2007)
    The court noted that the BIA is required to defer to the factual findings of the IJ unless they are clearly erroneous. Because the Board did not conclude that there was clear error in the IJ’s finding that Petitioner was likely to be tortured by Mexican officials, the court remanded the case to the BIA. (Ramirez-Peyro v. Gonzales, 2/23/07). AILA Doc. No. 07040362.
  • CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial; Expresses Concern about Removing Elderly Couple (3/20/2007)
    The court upheld the IJ’s order of removal to Russia and Latvia even though Petitioners are not citizen of either country. The court found the past harm did not amount to persecution and they did not have a well-founded fear. The court stated, however, that their removal seemed contrary to the traditions of the U.S. (Pavlovich v. Gonzales, 2/14/07). AILA Doc. No. 07032019.
  • CA8 Amends it Opinion in Ivanov, Finds IJ Abused Discretion in Granting MTR (Updated 5/31/07) (5/31/2007)
    At the request of the government, the court amended its 2/12/07 opinion but did not change the result. The court found that evidence proffered in support of a motion to reopen must be material and both unavailable and undiscoverable. The court found that no part of the regulation exempted DHS from these requirements. (Ivanov v. Gonzales, 4/24/07). AILA Doc. No. 07032015.
  • CA8 Finds Agency Erred by Not Placing Burden on Gov’t in Asylum Termination (3/5/2007)
    The court found that the neither the IJ nor the BIA placed the burden of proving fraud on the government. The IJ and BIA erred in placing the burden on Petitioner to prove her asylum eligibility anew. The court held that the regulation requires the government to prove fraud by a preponderance of the evidence. (Ntangsi v. Gonzales, 1/30/06). AILA Doc. No. 07030863.
  • CA8 Upholds Constitutionality of REAL ID’s Elimination of Habeas Review (2/13/2007)
    The court held that INA §242(a)(2)(D), which permits judicial review of all constitutional claims and questions of law in removal proceedings is an adequate and effective substitute for habeas review to test the legality of a person’s detention. (Mohamed v. Gonzales, 11/27/06). AILA Doc. No. 07021369.
  • CA8 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination in Forced Sterilization Claim (1/31/2007)
    The court held that in viewing the record as a whole, the IJ’s credibility assessment was supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence. The court relied on inconsistencies and omissions in Petitioner’s testimony and discrepancies between country reports and his testimony. (Zhuang v. Gonzales, 12/22/06). AILA DOc. No. 07013174.