Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/44/1378/513064/
Timestamp: 2020-07-07 10:47:56
Document Index: 321479805

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1158', '§ 1253', '§ 1251', '§ 1158', '§ 1253', '§ 2347', '§ 1101', '§ 1253', '§ 2347', '§ 1105', '§ 1105', '§ 2347', '§ 2347', '§ 2347', '§ 2347', '§ 1101', '§ 2347', '§ 1105']

Elizabeth Makonnen, Petitioner, v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Respondent, 44 F.3d 1378 (8th Cir. 1995) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Eighth Circuit › 1995 › Elizabeth Makonnen, Petitioner, v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Respondent
Elizabeth Makonnen, Petitioner, v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Respondent, 44 F.3d 1378 (8th Cir. 1995)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - 44 F.3d 1378 (8th Cir. 1995) Submitted Oct. 14, 1994. Decided Jan. 11, 1995
Elizabeth Makonnen petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the BIA or Board) denying her application for political asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (1988 & Supp. V 1993) and withholding of deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h) (Supp. V 1993), granting her request for voluntary departure instead, and denying her motion to remand her case to the Immigration Judge for consideration of additional evidence. We grant the petition and remand to the Board for further proceedings.
Makonnen, an Ethiopian national and a member of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), entered the United States on September 21, 1988, on a non-immigrant student visa. She accepted employment without Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) authorization. Consequently, an order to show cause alleging deportability under 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a) (9) (1988) was issued on July 31, 1990, with a telephone hearing held on January 29, 1991. Makonnen admitted the factual allegations in the order and conceded deportability, but requested asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, withholding of deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h), or, alternatively, voluntary deportation, asserting that she feared persecution if forced to return to Ethiopia.
respondent's claim principally rises and falls on her own testimony and general background information concerning the present conditions in Ethiopia. The court takes administrative notice that the Mengistu regime fell in May 1991 and that the respondent's previous fear of returning to Ethiopia no long [er] exists.... While the respondent seems to say that she fears the general ethnic conflict and unrest existing in Ethiopia at the present time, this information is insufficient to establish eligibility for Asylum per se.
In re Makonnen, No. A 29 466 150, Oral Decision of the Immigration Judge at 6 (Mar. 25, 1992). The judge denied Makonnen's request for asylum and for withholding of deportation, but granted voluntary deportation with an accompanying order of deportation should she fail to leave the United States within the period prescribed for voluntary departure.
Petitioner timely filed a petition for review, and requested leave to adduce additional evidence under 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c). In her petition, Makonnen argues that the Board erred (1) in applying a stricter standard to her political asylum claim than that mandated by law, (2) in rejecting her claim for asylum based on political opinion because she had not shown that all ethnic Oromos were being persecuted, (3) in denying procedural due process by refusing her the opportunity for a hearing on evidence crucial to her case, (4) in failing to find that, more likely than not, Makonnen would be subject to persecution in Ethiopia, or at least had the requisite fear necessary for a grant of asylum, and (5) in refusing to grant her motion to remand for consideration of her additional evidence.
Petitioner first contends that the Board erred in applying a stricter standard to her asylum claim than that mandated by law. She also asserts that the Board erroneously rejected her claim based on political opinion because she has not shown that all ethnic Oromos are being persecuted. We combine these contentions for purposes of our discussion. Both Makonnen and the Board agree that the "well-founded fear" standard for asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a) (42) (1988), set out in INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 448-49, 107 S. Ct. 1207, 1221-22, 94 L. Ed. 2d 434 (1987), is less stringent than the "more likely than not" requirement for withholding of deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h). Both cite the Board's opinion, which in turn cited Matter of Mogharrabi, 19 I. & N. Dec. 439 (1987), to the effect that " [a]n applicant for asylum has established a well-founded fear if he shows that a reasonable person in her [sic] circumstances would fear persecution for one of the five grounds specified in the Act," namely, race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. In re Makonnen, No. A29 466 150, Order at 3 (Nov. 18, 1993), quoted in Brief for Respondent at 23 and cited in Brief of Petitioner at 24.
In re Makonnen, No. A29 466 150, Order at 3. The Board concurred with the Immigration Judge's findings, specifically noting that Makonnen "fears the overall ethnic conflict in Ethiopia and such does not demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution within the meaning of the Act unless there is some evidence that [Makonnen] will be singled out for persecution or that all members of the Oromo ethnic group are being persecuted." Id. at 4-5. Makonnen suggests that this is where the Board erred. Her position is supported by 8 C.F.R. Sec. 208.13(b) (2) (i) (1994),3 which states that
The Board also failed to consider whether Makonnen might have a well-founded fear of persecution even if she is unable to establish a pattern or practice of persecution of the Oromo people or of the OLF. The Ninth Circuit has noted that 8 C.F.R. Sec. 208.13(b) (2) (i) "does not purport to cover the entire range of persecution related to group membership. Rather, the regulation leaves the standards governing non-pattern or practice cases to be developed through case law." Kotasz v. INS, 31 F.3d 847, 853 (9th Cir. 1994). In such cases,
Similarly, the BIA required evidence of persecution of all members of the Oromo ethnic group, yet it appears Makonnen bases her claim primarily on her active membership in the OLF. The government notes that Makonnen stated as part of her asylum application that " [b]eing an Oromo in Ethiopia was the main ground for me and my family's mistreatment by the gov [ernmen]t." Certified Administrative Record at 390. The government argues that Makonnen "did not tell the Board in what 'group' she claimed inclusion," and that "her testimony was peppered with comments about the alleged persecution of the Oromo people." Brief for Respondent at 28. What the government's own brief makes crystal clear, however, is that the petitioner's grasp of English, while certainly better than our grasp of Gallinya,4 is not sufficiently precise to allow the Board's conclusion "that--when the alien claimed persecution because of her inclusion in a group--she meant inclusion in the Oromo ethnic group." Id.5 Indeed, the close identification between the OLF and the Oromo people makes it probable that an OLF member would fail to maintain a clear verbal distinction between the two. Having reviewed the record, we are satisfied that Makonnen sufficiently apprised the Immigration Judge and the Board that her fear of persecution was based on her connections with the OLF, and not merely on her status as an ethnic Oromo. The Board erred to the extent that its decision rested only on Makonnen's status as an ethnic Oromo, and failed to consider her membership and activities in the OLF.
The Board also stated that, "although we do not categorically hold that entitlement to asylum relief can not be established by an individual based upon actions taken following entry into this country, we find that there must be specific evidence that a government would target an individual outside of its borders for persecution." In re Makonnen, No. A29 466 150, Order at 5. The BIA has itself commented on the poor quality of the evidence in this case, yet its action here severely restricts the utility of uncontroverted evidence of the petitioner's activities in the United States, which Makonnen has offered as part of her factual showing in support of her claim of a well-founded fear of persecution if she is forced to return to Ethiopia. We hold that the Board's treatment of this evidence was unduly restrictive and reflected an incorrect understanding of the law. Congress, in defining "refugee,"6 put no limitation on what might constitute evidence of a well-founded fear of persecution. While the Board is "entitled to a presumption of regularity," see Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402, 415, 91 S. Ct. 814, 823, 28 L. Ed. 2d 136 (1971), it may not create "new law" under the guise of assessing evidence. In this respect, too, we conclude the Board erred.
We now turn to the Board's denial of Makonnen's motion that her case be remanded to the Immigration Judge for consideration of additional evidence. Makonnen also has filed a motion with this Court for leave to adduce her additional evidence under the terms of 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c).7 The government argues that the standards of federal agency review set forth in Sec. 2347(c) apply only to the extent they do not conflict with the provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1105a (1988 & Supp. V 1993), which apply specifically to judicial review of final orders of deportation.8 In this case, according to the government, there is a conflict between the sections.
Section 1105a(a) (4) requires that a petition for review be "determined solely upon the administrative record upon which the deportation order is based...." Section 2347(c) necessarily requires the existence of evidence which is not contained within the administrative record and plainly conflicts with Section 1105a(a) (4) which directs the Court never to look outside the administrative record.
Osaghae v. INS, 942 F.2d 1160, 1162 (7th Cir. 1991); see also Fleurinor v. INS, 585 F.2d 129, 132 (5th Cir. 1978); Coriolan v. INS, 559 F.2d 993, 1003 (5th Cir. 1977). We here adopt the reasoning in Osaghae and hold that 8 U.S.C. § 1105a does not preclude a remand to the Board under 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c).
Utilizing the criteria enunciated in 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c), we observe that any additional evidence sought to be introduced must be material, and reasonable grounds must be shown for the initial failure to adduce it before the agency. The first piece of additional evidence proffered by Makonnen is a four-page letter dated January 22, 1994, written to Makonnen by her father, Makonnen Daka. This was penned upon his release from a twenty-one month incommunicado detention by the Ethiopian government, and details the facts of his seizure, holding, and release. Makonnen argues that the letter is material, bearing precisely on "the likelihood of Makonnen's being subject to persecution if forced to return to Ethiopia.... [T]he treatment of relatives, particularly immediate family members who share one's political beliefs, is highly material to one's own likelihood of persecution." Makonnen v. INS, No. 93-4010, Reply of Elizabeth Makonnen to Respondent's Opposition to Alien's Motion for Leave to Adduce Additional Evidence at 6-7 (8th Cir. June 9, 1994) (Reply to Respondent's Opposition). The INS argues that petitioner, "whose asylum claim is premised on her cooking, day secretarial work and babysitting for the OLF in the United States [,] is not similarly situated to her father," and points out that no evidence had been presented of any persecution of Makonnen's mother or other family members. Makonnen, Respondent's Opposition at 5.
The issue of materiality has come before this Court in a similar context on a prior occasion, in Alsheweikh v. INS, 990 F.2d 1025 (8th Cir. 1993). In that case we rejected the proffered additional evidence because of its "inconclusive, speculative, or duplicative" nature. Id. at 1027. Materiality requires both relevance to the matter at hand and probative value. Moreover, the evidence should be more than merely repetitive or cumulative of evidence already in the record. Here the letter relates to a member of Makonnen's immediate family who, like the petitioner, has espoused the political views of the OLF and has been active in the OLF's cause. The variance between the services performed by Makonnen Daka and those rendered by his daughter for the OLF does not affect the materiality of the letter under consideration in view of their familial relationship, similar political views, and active participation in the OLF. The letter is relevant to Makonnen's claim for asylum and probative on the issue of whether she has a well-founded fear of persecution. It does not duplicate prior evidence and is not inconclusive or speculative. We believe it clearly passes the materiality test.
Alsheweikh held that reasonable grounds for failure to present relevant evidence were not shown as the evidence involved "was readily available during [the] deportation proceedings." Id. Here, the letter from Makonnen's father could not have been in her possession at the time of the hearing, not only because of the date on which it was written, but because of an underlying cause, Makonnen Daka's incommunicado detention. As the statutory standards have been satisfied, we grant leave under 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c) for petitioner to adduce this evidence.
Petitioner further seeks to adduce as evidence the United States State Department Country Report on Ethiopia of February 1, 1994, "addressing, inter alia, the current treatment in Ethiopia of persons who support the Oromo Liberation Front." Makonnen, Reply to Respondent's Opposition at 2. Conversely, the government merely argues that the reports " 'do not establish that [Makonnen] ha [s] a well-founded fear of political persecution.' " Respondent's Opposition at 6 n. 4 (quoting Alsheweikh, 990 F.2d at 1027) (alteration in Respondent's Opposition). In Alsheweikh, however, the evidence of political dissident persecution was rejected because "Alsheweikh testified under oath that he did not belong to any political organizations." Alsheweikh, 990 F.2d at 1027. Here, Makonnen is an acknowledged member of the OLF, and the evidence she proffered relates to the treatment in Ethiopia of those who support that organization. The report is relevant, has considerable probative value, and does not duplicate material already in evidence. We hold that it is material. As in the case of Makonnen Daka's letter, the date of the report shows that it was not available to Makonnen during her deportation proceedings. Again, we conclude that Makonnen is entitled to have this evidence considered by the agency.
Makonnen's motion for leave to adduce additional evidence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2347(c) is granted. In light of this ruling, we decline to decide whether the Board abused its discretion by denying Makonnen's motion that her case be remanded to the Immigration Judge. On remand from this Court, we leave to the Board's sound discretion the question whether the case should be remanded to the Immigration Judge for initial consideration of Makonnen's additional evidence.
According to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a) (42) (A) (1988) the term "refugee" includes:
28 U.S.C. § 2347(c) (1988) states:
8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a) (4) (1988 & Supp. V 1993) states: