Opinion ID: 773894
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Clear Intent

Text: 21 Even aside from the plain language of the regulation, we still need not defer to the BIA's interpretation because it contravenes the clear intent of the agency in creating the rule. In cases involving regulations originally written to codify a rule created by case law, as long as the agency meant to endorse the rule of the particular case without modification, we can refer to that case for insight into the intent and regulatory history behind the rule. Here, Matter of Chen is the unquestioned progenitor of the regulation, and it serves as a useful, if not dispositive, guide to determining agency intent. See 63 Fed. Reg. 31945, 31947 (June 11, 1998) (calling Matter of Chen the case which the existing regulatory provisions were intended to codify); Kumar v. INS, 204 F.3d 931, 935 (9th Cir. 2000) (construing the exception by closely examining the facts of Matter of Chen); Vongsakdy v. INS, 171 F.3d 1203, 1207 (9th Cir. 1999) (same). Statements of policy in Matter of Chen are strong indicators of the intent behind the rule. 5 This case suggests that the exception codified in 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(b)(1)(ii) cannot be read as narrowly as the BIA does here. 22 Matter of Chen identifies the exception as a general humanitarian principle which applies to a person who has himself or whose family has suffered under atrocious forms of persecution. 20 I. & N. Dec. at 19. In Matter of Chen, the BIA recited the horrible persecution that the applicant had suffered in China during the Cultural Revolution as a result of his religious beliefs. The BIA never refers to the fact that Chen suffered permanent injuries as dispositive, and notes that he qualifies for the exception because his family suffered more than the usual amount of ill-treatment during that turbulent period. Id. at 21. See also Matter of N-M-A-, Interim Decision 3368, 1998 WL 744095 (BIA 1998); Matter of H-, Interim Decision 3276, 1996 WL 291910 (BIA 1996); Matter of B-, Interim Decision 3251, 1995 WL 326740 (BIA 1995). 23 It is clear from reading Matter of Chen that the BIA intended to except from the requirement of proving fear of future persecution those applicants who suffered severely under past persecution. These people are excepted because, as the case explains, [e]ven though there may have been a change of regime in his country, this may not always produce a complete change . . . in view of his past experiences, in the mind of the refugee. 20 I. & N. Dec. at 19. With this focus, there is no reason to limit the exception to those who suffer permanent disability. The focus is on the suffering that other people caused the applicant in the past, not on whether the medical maladies that arose from that treatment extend over the years. 24