Opinion ID: 1037978
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: he has been guilty of acts contrary to the

Text: purposes and principles of the United Nations. Convention, art. 1F, reprinted in 19 U.S.T. 6223. The Convention also includes a duty of nonrefoulement, which provides that “[n]o Contracting State shall expel or return (‘refouler’) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” Id. at art. 33.1. The Convention also states, however, that the benefit of nonrefoulement may not “be claimed by a refugee whom there are reasonable grounds for regarding as a danger to the security of the country in which he is.” Id. at art. 33.2. In Khan, we rejected the argument that Article 1F and the duty of nonrefoulement compelled a narrow reading of the INA’s terrorist bars that would exclude legitimate armed resistance. Although the United States acceded to the Protocol in 1968, the Protocol is not self-executing and ANNACHAMY V. HOLDER 25 therefore does not have the force of law in American courts. See Khan, 584 F.3d at 783. We nonetheless “follow[ed] the general rule of the Charming Betsy canon that ‘an act of Congress ought never to be construed to violate the law of nations, if any other possible construction remains.’” Id. (quoting Murray v. The Schooner Charming Betsy, 6 U.S. (2 Cranch) 64, 118 (1804)). We observed that “[t]he Protocol, through Refugee Convention Article 33.2, allows the United States to refoul an individual ‘whom there are reasonable grounds for regarding as a danger to the security’ of the United States” and that, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “‘the determination of refugee status . . . is incumbent upon the Contracting state in whose territory the refugee finds himself.’” Id. at 783–84 (second alteration in original). Thus, Congress’ determination in the INA that “an alien who [has engaged in a terrorist activity] shall be considered to be an alien with respect to whom there are reasonable grounds for regarding as a danger to the security of the United States,” 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3), adhered to the Protocol’s nonrefoulement provision and controlled our decision. See id. at 784. The same reasoning applies here. Under the Protocol and Convention, Congress is free to decide that an alien who provided material support to a terrorist organization, even if under duress, is a danger to the security of the United States.14,15 14 Although neither party cites them, we note that the U.N. Guidelines on the application of Article 1F specify that “[f]actors generally considered to constitute defences to criminal responsibility,” including duress, “should be considered.” UNHCR, Guidelines on International Protection: Application of the Exclusion Clauses: Article 1F of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees § II.E.22 (2003) (“Guidelines”). We presume that these Guidelines, like the U.N. Handbook, “may be a useful interpretive aid,” but they are “not binding on the Attorney General, the BIA, or United States courts.” INS v. 26 ANNACHAMY V. HOLDER