Opinion ID: 3029025
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Summary of Facts and Procedural History

Text: Shehu was born in Albania on April 5, 1961 and resided there until April 1997. Shehu participated in a pro-democracy demonstration in January, 1991. He was arrested during the demonstration and taken to a police station. The police detained Shehu for a week, during which time they beat and threatened to kill him. Shehu joined the Democratic Party the following month and testified that he remained active in the Party until his departure to the United States. Civil unrest erupted in Albania in early 1997. Bank 3 robberies became common. Shehu moved in with his brother, the director of a local bank, for mutual protection. One evening in March, 1997, a group of masked and armed men entered Shehu’s brother’s house and beat and kidnapped them both. The assailants took Shehu and his brother to another location, beat them again, and threatened to kill them if Shehu’s brother did not give them access to the bank’s money. They held Shehu for ransom while his brother was taken to get the necessary keys and codes required for access to the bank. The gang released Shehu on the following afternoon. Shehu returned home and found his brother already there. Shehu and his brother were determined to thwart the robbery. They arrived at the bank and removed the money before their assailants arrived. They hid the money at three different safe locations. Shehu’s brother took his family to his in-laws’ home in a nearby village. Shehu and his brother made a complaint at the police station the following day. They then went into hiding in another village for the next two months. Shehu then left Albania and went to Greece. He obtained a series of temporary work permits and lived in a hotel. Shehu testified that his assailants tracked him to Greece. Unidentified men beat another one of Shehu’s brothers who was then living in Greece and demanded to know Shehu’s whereabouts. Shehu’s brother gave them one of Shehu’s old addresses, then called Shehu to warn him. Shehu fled to another city in Greece, stayed for a few days, then left for the United States via Paris 4 and the Caribbean. Shehu arrived in Miami, Florida on December 22, 2002. He claimed that he was an applicant to the VWP. The authorities became aware that he was violating that program and served him with a Notice of Referral to an IJ on December 11, 2003. Shehu conceded that he was a VWP violator and filed an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the CAT, recounting the above facts and requesting relief. The IJ found that the criminal gang that pursued Shehu did not do so on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion–but out of a mere desire for money. The IJ also held that any presumption of a well founded fear of future persecution arising from his 1991 imprisonment was rebutted by the many years Shehu spent without persecution and by the collapse of the Communist regime. The IJ denied his request for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the CAT. However, the IJ did not expressly order Shehu removed, because Shehu was referred to the IJ for “asylum-only” proceedings. According to agency regulations, these proceedings deal only with petitions “for asylum or withholding or deferral of removal [under the INA or CAT], and whether asylum shall be granted in the exercise of discretion.” See 8 C.F.R. § 208.2(c)(3)(i). The alien cannot contest removability or admissibility and cannot present other grounds for relief. Id. The BIA affirmed and adopted the IJ’s decision. 5