Opinion ID: 4526641
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Guzman’s Application for Relief under the INA

Text: To be eligible for asylum under the INA, an applicant must demonstrate refugee status by showing that he has suffered past persecution or has a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.13 A fear of future persecution is well-founded if there is a reasonable probability that persecution will occur, and a showing of past persecution creates a rebuttable presumption that the fear is well-founded.14 In addition, the applicant must establish that one of the five statutorily protected grounds “was or will be at least one central reason” for his persecution and 11 See I.N.S. v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481–84 (1992) (analyzing the causal connection between political opinion and persecution as a factual question); Cruz-Diaz v. I.N.S., 86 F.3d 330, 331–32 (4th Cir. 1996), as amended (May 29, 1996) (same). 12 See Kang v. Att’y Gen., 611 F.3d 157, 164 (3d Cir. 2010) (“[W]e will uphold the BIA’s reversal of the IJ’s grant of CAT relief if there is substantial evidence supporting the BIA’s conclusion that the IJ clearly erred in finding a likelihood of torture, or if we determine that the alleged mistreatment does not legally constitute torture.”). 13 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(b)(1)(A), 1101(a)(42)(A). 14 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b). 8 that the harm was caused by the government or by forces that the government is unable or unwilling to control.15 To be eligible for withholding of removal under the INA, which is a separate form of relief, the standard is higher still, as the applicant must demonstrate that there is a “clear probability” that, upon his removal, his life or freedom will be threatened on account of one of the protected grounds.16 Addressing Guzman’s first claim that he is eligible for asylum and withholding of removal under the INA on account of his imputed membership in a particular social group consisting of complaining witnesses against major Salvadoran gangs, we conclude that remand is appropriate. To establish a particular social group, an applicant must show that it is “(1) composed of members who share a common immutable characteristic, (2) defined with particularity, and (3) socially distinct within the society in question.”17 After our review of the situation in El Salvador, we conclude that the group of persons, who publicly provide assistance to law enforcement against major Salvadoran gangs satisfies all three criteria and, thus, constitutes a particular social group.18 15 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(i); Kibinda v. Att’y Gen., 477 F.3d 113, 119 (3d Cir. 2007). 16 Chen v. Gonzales, 434 F.3d 212, 216 (3d Cir. 2005) (internal quotation marks omitted). 17 S.E.R.L., 894 F.3d at 547; see also Matter of M-E-V-G-, 26