Opinion ID: 3110
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Asylum Claims Based on a Spouse's Forcible Abortion or Sterilization

Text: 19 In 1996, Congress extended the definition of political refugee, for purposes of asylum and withholding claims, to persons subjected to forced abortions or sterilizations. See IIRIRA § 601(a)(1), 110 Stat. at 3009-689 (amending 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)); 4 see also Ke Zhen Zhao v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 265 F.3d 83, 91-92 (2d Cir.2001) (discussing background to change in the law). The following year, the BIA interpreted the new provision to permit the husband of a woman subjected to forced abortion or sterilization to base his own asylum claim on such past spousal persecution. See In re C-Y-Z-, 21 I. & N. Dec. 915, 918 (B.I.A.1997), cited in Jin Shui Qiu v. Ashcroft, 329 F.3d at 148; see also Ke Zhen Zhao v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 265 F.3d at 92. Indeed, a husband may apply for asylum or withholding of deportation based on past spousal persecution even when his wife remains in their native country. See In re C-Y-Z-, 21 I. & N. Dec. at 916. 20 This expansion of the concept of refugee, coupled with the law's recognition that some asylum claims cannot be corroborated, presents significant challenges in distinguishing valid from invalid claims of persecution based on China's coercive population control policies. 5 After all, virtually any young, undocumented Chinese male seeking to enter the United States can assert that he is married and seeking asylum based on his spouse's forcible abortion or sterilization. Some such claims may be true, even though the man can produce no supporting documentation. Others may be bogus, although corroborated by a host of meticulously forged documents. Such claims can present an almost infinite variety of circumstances, from men whose claims of marriage and persecution are entirely fabricated; to men whose wives did have documented abortions or sterilizations, but not involuntarily; to men who use their wives' involuntary abortions or sterilizations as an excuse to abandon family responsibilities. 21 Further complicating agency review of such claims is the reality that large numbers of Chinese males annually flee their country in search of better economic opportunity. See, e.g., Elisabeth Rosenthal, Chinese Town's Main Export: Its Young Men, N.Y. Times, June 26, 2000, at A1 (reporting that 80% of the male population between ages 20 and 40 had left the Chinese village of Ting Jiang over a ten-year period). This economic motivation is certainly understandable, indeed, historic, and the men's strong determination is evidenced by the high costs many pay, both in terms of money and lives. See id. (reporting that human smugglers are frequently paid as much as $70,000 per person to make travel arrangements out of China); 6 see also United States v. Lee Peng Fei, 225 F.3d 167, 169-70 (2d Cir.2000) (detailing events leading to deaths of ten Chinese nationals being smuggled into the United States aboard the Golden Venture ). Economic motives alone, however, cannot qualify an alien for asylum pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42); thus, men with such motives may have an incentive to fabricate spousal persecution claims to enhance the likelihood of their admission into the United States. 22 However difficult the problems of identifying legitimate spousal persecution claims, we are obliged to defer to the BIA's interpretation of § 1101(a)(42). See Diallo v. INS, 232 F.3d at 285 (noting that pursuant to Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 843, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984), federal courts accord substantial deference to the BIA's interpretations of the statutes and regulations that it administers). Thus, we must apply the same substantial evidence standard of review to spousal persecution claims that we apply to direct persecution claims.