Some Key Relevant Cites on Particular Social Group, Gender & Related Issues 1 Particular Social Group By Deborah E. Anker* Matter of Acosta, 19 I&N Dec. 211 (BIA 1985) Sanchez-Trujillo v. INS, 801 F.2d 1571 (9th Cir. 1986) Hernandez-Montiel v. INS, 225 F.3d 1084 (9th Cir. 2000) Matter of C-A-, 23 I&N Dec. 951 (BIA 2006) Matter of S-E-G-, 24 I&N Dec. 579 (BIA 2008) Gatimi v. Holder, 578 F.3d 611 (7th Cir. 2009) Lizama v. Holder, 629 F.3d 440 (4th Cir. 2011) Crespin-Valladares v. Holder, No. 08-60991, 2011 WL 546531 (4th Cir. 2011) Demiraj v. Holder, 631 F.3d 194 (5th Cir. 2011) Early Attempts to Articulate Gender-Defined Social Groups Fatin v. INS, 12 F.3d 1233 (3d Cir. 1993) Safaie v. INS, 25 F.3d 636 (8th Cir. 1994) Matter of Kasinga, 21 I&N Dec. 357 (BIA 1996) Sharif v. INS, 87 F.3d 932, 936 (7th Cir. 1996) Gomez v. INS, 947 F.2d 660, 664 (2d Cir. 1991) overruled in relevant part by Gao v. Gonzales, 440 F.3d 62, 69 (2d Cir. 2006), cert. granted, judgment vacated on other grounds, 128 S. Ct. 345 (2007). Yadegar Sargis v INS, 297 F.3d 596 (7th Cir. 2002) Wejetunga v. Gonzales, 175 Fed. Appx. 829, 830 (9th Cir. 2006) Perdomo and Gender Violence / Domestic Violence * Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Harvard Law School, Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program. 1 Note: These cites have been integrated with, or in addition to, Professor Musalo and Shuting Chen s cites from their summary of key relevant cases on social group, gender & related issues. These cites are also adapted from Deborah E. Anker, Law of Asylum in the United States 2011 Edition, Chp. 5 (Thomson Reuters 2011); Chapter 5 of this book contains a more detailed treatment regarding gender-based particular social group claims, and the grounds generally.
Matter of R-A-, 22 I & N Dec. 906 (BIA 1999) (vacated A.G. 2001) Matter of L.R. Perdomo v Holder, 611 F.3d 662 (9th Cir. 2010) Forced Abortion Matter of Chang, 20 I&N Dec. 38 (BIA 1989) In re X-P-T-, 21 I&N Dec. 634 (BIA 1996) Matter of C-Y-Z-, 21 I&N Dec. 915 (BIA 1997) In re Y-T-L-, 23 I&N Dec. 601 (BIA 2003) Matter of J-S-, 24 I&N Dec. 529 (A.G. 2008) Forced Marriage Islam v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Regina v. Immigration Appeal Tribunal, Ex Parte Shah, 2 All E.R. 545 (1999) Gao v. Gonzales, 440 F.3d 62 (2d Cir. 2006), vacated, Keisler v. Hong Yin Gao, 557 U.S. 801 (2007) Ngengwe v. Mukasey, 543 F.3d 1029 (8th Cir. 2008) Al-Ghorbani v. Holder, 585 F.3d 980 (6th Cir. 2009) Qu v Holder, 618 F.3d 602 (6th Cir. 2010) Femicide Perdomo v Holder, 611 F.3d 662 (9th Cir. 2010) Female Genital Cutting Fear of Future FGC Matter of Kasinga, 21 I&N Dec. 357 (BIA 1996) Cases Involving Past FGC Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785 (9th Cir. 2005) Hassan v. Gonzales, 484 F.3d 513, 518 (8th Cir. 2007) Matter of A-T-, 24 I&N Dec. 296 (BIA 2007)
Matter of A-T-, 24 I&N Dec. 617 (A.G. 2008) Bah v Mukasey, 529 F.3d 99 (2d Cir. 2008) Matter of S-A-K- and H-A-H-, 24 I&N Dec. 464 (BIA 2008) Matter of A-T-, 25 I&N Dec. 4 (BIA 2009) Claims involving Parents and Children who Fear FGC Abay v Gonzales, 368 F.3d 634 (6th Cir. 2004) Niang v Gonzales, 492 F.3d 505 (4th Cir. 2007) Matter of A-K-, 24 I&N Dec. 275 (BIA 2007) Trafficking Lazo-Majano v. INS, 813 F.2d 1432, 1435 (9th Cir. 1987), overruled in part on other grounds by Fisher v. INS, 79 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 1998 (en banc)). Matter of S-A-, 22 I&N Dec. 1328, 1336 (BIA 2000) Zheng v. Minister of Citizenship & Immigration, [2002] F.C.J. No. 580; 2002 F.C.T. 448 (Fed. Ct. Trial Div.) (Can.) No. N03/45573 (2003) R.R.T.A. 160 paras. 70-74 (Refugee Rev. Trib. February 24, 2003) (Austl.) No. V01/13062 (2004) R.R.T.A. 221 (Refugee Rev. Trib. March 16, 2004) (Austl.) JO [2004] UKAIT 00251 No. 75233, slip op. paras. 26-27 (Refugee Status App. Auth. Feb. 1, 2005) (N.Z.) SZBFQ v. Minister for Immigration & Anor [2005] F.C.M.A. 197 (Fed. Magis. Ct. June 10, 2005) (Austl.) Rreshpja v. Gonzales, 420 F.3d 551, 555 (6th Cir. 2005)
List of Circuit Court decisions that have expressly adopted or rejected the BIA s social visibility test as part of the Particular Social Group analysis: Mendez-Barrera v. Holder, 602 F.3d 21, 23 (1st Cir. 2010) Ucelo-Gomez v. Mukasey, 509 F.3d 70 (2d Cir. 2007) Zavaleta-Lopez v. AG, 360 Fed. Appx. 331, 333 (3d Cir. 2010) Crespin-Valladares v. Holder, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 2995 (4th Cir. Feb. 16, 2011) Mendoza-Marquez v. Holder, 345 Fed. Appx. 31, 33 (5th Cir. 2009) Urbina-Mejia v. Holder, 597 F.3d 360, 366 (6th Cir. 2010) Castro-Paz v. Holder, 375 Fed.Appx. 586, 590 (6th Cir. 2010) Gatimi v. Holder, 578 F.3d 611 (7 Cir. 2009) Ramos v. Holder, 589 F.3d 426 (7 Cir 2009) Malonga v. Mukasey, 546 F.3d 546, 553-554 (8th Cir. 2008) Arteaga v. Mukasey, 511 F.3d 940, 944-945 (9th Cir. 2007) Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 744, 746 (9th Cir. 2008) Ramos-Lopez v. Holder, 563 F.3d 855, 861 (9th Cir. 2009) Castillo-Arias v. AG, 446 F.3d 1190, 1199 (11th Cir. 2006)
March 15, 2011 List of Sources from Gina Germain Resources AILA s Asylum Primer (6th Ed. 2009) pp. 78 80 UNHCR Guidelines on International Protection No. 2: Membership of a Particular Social Group... (2002) http://www.unhcr.org/cgi bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=3d36f23f4 UNHCR Brief in Social Group case at Third Circuit: www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/49ef25102.pdf CAIR Coalition s Manual: Seeking Asylum from Gang Based Violence http://www.ansarilawfirm.com/docs/cair Gang Resource Manual.pdf BIA Cases Matter of S E G, 24 I&N Dec. 579 (BIA 2008) Matter of E A G, 24 I&N Dec. 591 (BIA 2008) Matter of C A, 23 I&N Dec. 951 (BIA 2006) Circuit Court Cases Amilcar Orellana v. Mukasey, 551 F.3d 86 (1st Cir. 2008) Arteaga v. Mukasey, 511 F.3d 940 (9th Cir. 2007) Castellano Chacon v. INS, 341 F.3d 533 (6th Cir. 2003) Ramos v. Holder, 589 F.3d 426 (7th Cir. 2009) Rranci v. Mukasey, 540 F.3d 165 (3d Cir. 2008) Santos Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 940 (9th Cir. 2008) Valdiviezo Galdamez v. Att y Gen. of the United States, 502 F.3d 285 (3d Cir. 2007) Other circuit court cases are compiled at http://www.refugees.org/resources/for lawyers/asylumresearch/gang related asylum resources/court of appeals.html
IJ Decisions IJ Williams (Baltimore Immigration Court) (June 11, 2009) granting asylum to an applicant whose brother was murdered in El Salvador for refusing to join the MS 13 Gang, finding particular social group to be the applicant s nuclear family. http://www.uscrirefugees.org/2010website/5_resources/5_4_for_lawyers/5_4_1%20asylum%20rese arch/5_4_1_2_gang_related_asylum_resources/5_4_1_2_3_immigration_judge_decisions_briefs_and _Affidavits/Matter_of_S_IJ%20Decision.pdf IJ Tsankov (Los Angeles, January 14, 2009) granting asylum to twin girls from El Salvador based on their family group that has been a target of gang violence. http://www.uscrirefugees.org/2010website/5_resources/5_4_for_lawyers/5_4_1%20asylum%20rese arch/5_4_1_2_gang_related_asylum_resources/5_4_1_2_3_immigration_judge_decisions_briefs_and _Affidavits/Matter_of_M%20_IJ_Decision.pdf For more IJ decisions see: http://www.refugees.org/resources/for lawyers/asylum research/gangrelated asylum resources/immigration judge.html Asylum Headquarters Guidance Memo: Former Gang Membership as a Potential Particular Social Group (March 2010): http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=31765 Memo: Matter of C A (2007) http://www.uscis.gov/uscis/laws/memoranda/archive%201998 2008/2007/Jan%202007/c_a_guidance011207.pdf Newspaper Articles Wall Street Journal Articles on Mexican Asylum Claims March 9, 2011 http://online.wsj.com/article/sb10001424052748703662804576188971573429238.html# March 10, 2011 http://online.wsj.com/article/sb10001424052748704629104576190923523249488.html