Opinion ID: 4348947
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Eligibility to be Granted Asylum

Text: Where § 1158(a) governs who may apply for asylum, the remainder of § 1158 delineates the process by which applicants may be granted asylum. An asylum applicant must establish refugee status within the meaning of § 1101(a)(42) by demonstrating that “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion was or will be at least one central reason” for persecution. Id. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(i). An applicant may sustain this burden through testimony alone, “but only if the applicant satisfies the trier of fact that the applicant’s testimony is credible, is persuasive, and refers to specific facts sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant is a refugee.” Id. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(ii). The trier of fact may also require the applicant to provide other evidence of record and weigh the testimony along with this evidence. Id. An applicant is not entitled to a presumption of credibility; the trier of fact makes a credibility determination “[c]onsidering the totality of the circumstances, and all relevant factors.” Id. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii). 13 Six categories of aliens allowed to apply for asylum by § 1158(a) are excluded from being granted asylum by § 1158(b)(2): Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an alien if the Attorney General determines that— (i) the alien ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; (ii) the alien, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of the United States; (iii) there are serious reasons for believing that the alien has committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States prior to the arrival of the alien in the United States; (iv) there are reasonable grounds for regarding the alien as a danger to the security of the United States; (v) the alien is described in subclause (I), (II), (III), (IV), or (VI) of section 1182(a)(3)(B)(i) of this title or section 1227(a)(4)(B) of this title (relating to terrorist activity), unless, in the case only of an alien described in subclause (IV) of section 1182(a)(3)(B)(i) of this title, the Attorney General determines, in the Attorney General’s discretion, that there are not reasonable grounds for regarding the alien as a danger to the security of the United States; or (vi) the alien was firmly resettled in another country prior to arriving in the United States. 14 Id. § 1158(b)(2)(A). Additionally, “[t]he Attorney General may by regulation establish additional limitations and conditions, consistent with this section, under which an alien shall be ineligible for asylum under paragraph (1).” Id. § 1158(b)(2)(C); see Nijjar v. Holder, 689 F.3d 1077, 1082 (9th Cir. 2012) (suggesting that fraud in the application could be a valid additional ground on which the Attorney General may deem aliens categorically ineligible). However, as far as we can tell, prior to the promulgation of the Rule at issue in this case, the Attorney General had not exercised the authority to establish additional “limitations or conditions” beyond those Congress enumerated in § 1158(a)(2) and (b)(2). See 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(c) (effective July 18, 2013 to Nov. 8, 2018); id. § 1208.13(c) (effective July 18, 2013 to Nov. 8, 2018). If an applicant successfully establishes refugee status and is not excluded from relief by § 1158(b)(2), the Attorney General “may grant asylum,” but is not required to do so. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(A) (emphasis added). Asylum is a form of “discretionary relief.” Moncrieffe v. Holder, 569 U.S. 184, 187 (2013); see INS. v. Aguirre–Aguirre, 526 U.S. 415, 420 (1999). We review the Attorney General’s decision to deny asylum for whether it is “manifestly contrary to the law and an abuse of discretion,” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(D), but we do not have the authority to award asylum, see id. § 1252(e)(4)(B) (a court reviewing an asylum 15 decision “may order no remedy or relief other than to require that the petitioner be provided a hearing” before an immigration judge). An alien granted asylum gains a number of benefits, including pathways to lawful permanent resident status and citizenship. See id. § 1159(b) (governing adjustment of status from asylee to lawful permanent resident); id. § 1427(a) (governing naturalization of lawful permanent residents). Additionally, an asylee may obtain derivative asylum for a spouse and any unmarried children, id. § 1158(b)(3); is exempt from removal, id. § 1158(c)(1)(A); may work in the United States, id. § 1158(c)(1)(B); may travel abroad without prior consent of the government, id. § 1158(c)(1)(C); and may obtain federal financial assistance, id. § 1613(b)(1).