United States Ninth Circuit

Petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) denial of asylum and withholding of removal is granted, where: 1) the evidence compelled the conclusion that petitioner's imputed political opinion was at least one central reason that police targeted him; 2) petitioner's association with a suspected terrorist supported the conclusion that he was persecuted because of an imputed political opinion; 3) in the wake of the REAL ID Act, an applicant may still meet his burden of establishing nexus by introducing evidence that he was wrongly accused of being a terrorist; and 4) the mixed-motives analysis applies to cases governed by the REAL ID Act, and here, at least one central reason for harm was based on a protected ground.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/26/2014
• Published 08/26/2014

Judges

• Reinhardt

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel