Opinion ID: 625002
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Particular social group - social visibility

Text: The social visibility element requires that “society perceive those with the characteristic in question as members of a social group.” Matter of C-A-, 23 I. & N. Dec. at 957. “Whether a proposed group has a shared characteristic with the requisite ‘social visibility’ must be considered in the context of the country of concern and the persecution feared.” Matter of A-M-E- & J-G-U-, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 74; see also Barrientos, 658 F.3d at 1231–32. The BIA applies two requirements to the social visibility element. “The first is that citizens of the applicant’s country would consider individuals with the pertinent trait to constitute a distinct social group.” Barrientos, 658 F.3d at 1232 (citing Matter of C-A-, 23 I. & N. Dec. at 957). For example, the BIA rejected proposed social groups consisting of noncriminal informants working against the Cali drug cartel and Salvadoran youth (or family members of Salvadoran youth) who are recruited by gangs but refuse to join because the BIA determined that neither group would be considered a cohesive group in the applicant’s home country. Matter of S-E-G-, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 586. In Barrientos, we determined that the class defined as “Salvadoran women between the ages of 12 and 25 who have resisted gang recruitment” lacked sufficient social visibility to be a 13 particular social group, because the petitioner “offered no evidence to suggest that Salvadoran society considers young women who have resisted gang recruitment to be a distinct social group.” 658 F.3d at 1234 (citing Matter of S-E-G-, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 586–87). The BIA has held that if the proposed social group suffers persecution beyond that experienced by the general public, that persecution can provide evidence that the proposed grouping is considered a social group by society generally. Matter of S-E-G-, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 587. But a social group cannot be “be defined exclusively by the fact that its members have been subjected to harm in the past (i.e., forced gang recruitment and any violence associated with that recruitment).” Id. at 584. In Barrientos, we agreed with the BIA that violence against an individual or proposed group cannot, in and of itself, establish social visibility if the general public suffers the same level of violence. 658 F.3d at 1234–35 (rejecting petitioner’s argument that gang violence against her established that the gang perceived her as belonging to a specific group, because the gang directed similar violence against the public at large). “The second . . . component of social visibility is that the applicant’s community is capable of identifying an individual as belonging to the group.” Id. at 1232 (citing Matter of S-E-G-, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 586). A particular social group may be recognized in a variety of ways—“[s]ocial groups based on innate characteristics such as sex or family relationship are generally easily recognizable and understood by others to constitute social groups.” Matter of C-A-, 23 I. & N. Dec. at 958. The BIA also recognizes other, 14 less obviously visible groups: Filipinos of mixed Filipino-Chinese ancestry; young women of a particular tribe who were opposed to female genital mutilation; persons listed by the government as having the status of a homosexual; former members of the national police, former military leaders, and land owners. Id. (collecting cases). To determine social visibility, the BIA examines “the extent to which members of the purported group would be recognizable to others in [the applicant’s home country].” Id. We have interpreted this requirement such that the “relevant trait [need not] be visually or otherwise easily identified.” Id. “Rather, social visibility requires that the relevant trait be potentially identifiable by members of the community, either because it is evident or because the information defining the characteristic is publically accessible.” Id. The BIA has noted that groups defined by genital mutilation, kinship ties, and prior employment as a police officer are all sufficiently socially visible to constitute a distinct social group. Id. (citing Matter of C-A-, 23 I. & N. Dec. at 959–60). While the first element of social visibility asks if the group would be considered a legitimate social grouping in the applicant’s home country, this second element asks if individuals in the group are capable of being recognized as part of the group by society in the applicant’s home country.