Case Law

The Attorney General vacated the decision in Matter of Compean, Bangaly & J-E-C-, 24 I&N Dec. 710 (A.G. 2009), and pending the outcome of a rulemaking process, directed the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration Judges to continue to apply the previously established standards for reviewing motions to reopen based on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.

3 June 2009 | Judicial Body: United States Attorney-General | Topic(s): Deportation / Forcible return - Legal representation / Legal aid | Countries: Mali - United States of America

Application for judicial review.

26 February 2009 | Judicial Body: Canada: Federal Court | Topic(s): Credibility assessment - Deportation / Forcible return - Evidence (including age and language assessments / medico-legal reports) - Non-state agents of persecution - Persecution based on political opinion - Persecution of family members - Refugees | Countries: Canada - Colombia

Subsequently vacated by the Attorney General's decision in Matter of Compean, Bangaly & J-E-C-, 25 I&N Dec. 1 (A.G. 2009).

7 January 2009 | Judicial Body: United States Attorney-General | Topic(s): Asylum-seekers - Criminal justice - Deportation / Forcible return - Legal representation / Legal aid - Rule of law / Due process / Procedural fairness | Countries: Mali - United States of America

On appeal from the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

12 November 2008 | Judicial Body: United Kingdom: Court of Appeal (England and Wales) | Topic(s): Deportation / Forcible return - Drug trafficking - Right to family life | Countries: Colombia - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Unpublished opinion.

25 April 2007 | Judicial Body: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Topic(s): Changes of circumstances in home country - Deportation / Forcible return - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) - Persecution on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity | Countries: Colombia - United States of America

Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Unpublished opinion.

3 July 2006 | Judicial Body: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Topic(s): Convention against Torture (CAT) - Country of origin information (COI) - Credibility assessment - Deportation / Forcible return - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) | Countries: Colombia - United States of America

(1) The members of a particular social group must share a common, immutable characteristic, which may be an innate one, such as sex, color, or kinship ties, or a shared past experience, such as former military leadership or land ownership, but it must be one that members of the group either cannot change, or should not be required to change, because it is fundamental to their individual identities or consciences. Matter of Acosta, 19 I&N Dec. 211(BIA 1985), followed.
(2) The social visibility of the members of a claimed social group is an important consideration in identifying the existence of a 'particular social group' for the purpose of determining whether a person qualifies as a refugee. (3) The group of 'former noncriminal drug informants working against the Cali drug cartel' does not have the requisite social visibility to constitute a 'particular social group.'

15 June 2006 | Judicial Body: United States Board of Immigration Appeals | Topic(s): Deportation / Forcible return - Non-state agents of persecution - Social group persecution | Countries: Colombia - United States of America

Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Unpublished opinion.

18 November 2005 | Judicial Body: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Topic(s): Convention against Torture (CAT) - Credibility assessment - Deportation / Forcible return - HIV and AIDS - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) - Non-state agents of persecution - Persecution based on political opinion - Social group persecution | Countries: Colombia - United States of America

12 December 2003 | Judicial Body: Costa Rica: Corte Suprema de Justicia | Topic(s): Deportation / Forcible return - Expulsion - Right to family life | Countries: Colombia - Costa Rica