United States Ninth Circuit

Family membership may constitute membership in a "particular social group," and thus confer refugee status on a family member who has been persecuted or who has a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of that familial relationship.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/14/2004
• Decided 06/03/2005
• Published 06/03/2005

Judges

• WARDLAW, Circuit Judge:, Before:  SCHROEDER, Chief Judge, REINHARDT, O'SCANNLAIN, RYMER, KLEINFELD, HAWKINS, SILVERMAN, GRABER, WARDLAW, PAEZ, and BEA, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Errol I. Horwitz and Edward M. Bialack, Law Offices of Errol I. Horwitz, Woodland Hills, California, for the petitioners., Deborah Anker, Nancy Kelly, and John Willshire, Women Refugees Project, Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, Boston, Massachusetts, for the amicus curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Daniel Meron, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and Anne Murphy, Attorney, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the respondent.